Notwithstanding the Boxing Day incident which left two young men injured, the Christmas season was relatively quiet, police say.
Spokesman Inspector Frankie Thomas told Observer, “Generally speaking, on a broader picture, the entire Christmas season from the police perspective was relatively quiet…barring the few incidents where our young people seemed to forget how to conduct themselves in public.”
In addition to uniformed police officers patrolling Christmas festivities, Thomas confirmed that officers in plain clothes were also present.
“We have officers who are detailed to perform duties, some of whom were in plain clothes…We did have officers performing duties at some of those events,” he said.
Inspector Thomas added that the general public’s cooperation and adherence to rules greatly contributed to the relatively quiet Christmas season.
He pointed specifically to the adherence to crime prevention tips and the traffic plan which temporarily closed streets in St John’s for some holiday events.
On Boxing Day, 23-year-old DeSonte Barton and 18-year-old Jaheim Mannix were stabbed during the Point J’ouvert Street Jam.
Barton received multiple stab wounds following an ambush by seven assailants. Mannix was subsequently injured after attempting to intervene. Both have since been discharged from hospital.