A soldier lays down orders to men detained by the Jamaica Defence Force yesterday. The location of the makeshift detention centre will not be revealed because of security concerns.

Colourful retired Senior Superintendent of Police Reneto Adams has called for the security forces to expand their operations to 80 other communities in Jamaica, which, he says, are besieged by criminal gangs.

"I want them (security forces) to stay in Tivoli, Arnett (Gardens), Mountain View, Olympic Gardens, Spanish Town. I want them to stay as long as possible. Then, we should invite civil society to come together to reorientate or orientate these people, because they have been trained to hate the Government, the Church and the police," he said.

He also wants a command post to be established in the centre of Tivoli Gardens for the foreseeable future.

Adams, who served in the Jamaica Constabulary Force for 41 years, said he had foreseen the latest stand-off between the security forces and criminals in west Kingston.

"I saw criminal organisations implemented with the complicity of some politicians on both sides, the private sector and other people. I have seen criminals spread their crime all over the island in a deliberate manner," he said.

Adams was himself involved in a July 2001 police operation in Tivoli Gardens, which claimed the lives of 25 persons. Adams, at that time, received sharp criticism from various sectors of society, which decried his policing tactics.

In that attack, the ex-crime fighter had prophetically declared that Jamaica "will pay dearly" for the entrenchment of thugs in Tivoli.

He says that the build-up to the latest situation and the aftermath have left him feeling "highly vindicated" about his position that the west Kingston community was a hotbed of criminality. He is not asking for an apology from his detractors, however.

"I am not demanding it. If they are contrite in their hearts and said they hoped they had supported and cooperated with me when I went there and was not blinded by politics, and that they need redemption, then I will guide them," he said.