| Crime is Everyone’s Business | | Print | |
| Friday, 29 January 2010 17:25 | |||
 “The community needs to get involved” was the message sent by police officials last week, calling for the community to pitch in to the campaign to fight crime.“This is a partnership. You and us have a key role to play in making the TCI a safe place,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Dave Ryder said. The country saw a 38 percent increase in crime in 2009, and while the police struggle to find solutions to the problem, they see community involvement as a key factor in that agenda. Statistics show that police were able to make arrests in only 22 percent of crimes in 2009, compared to 40 percent in 2008. Ryder says the plan of action in 2010 is to balance response policing with community policing efforts in order to create an effective strategy to fight crime. “We have and will continue to increase patrols on the streets,” Ryder committed, but says they need greater support from the community to see a measured decrease in the crime rate. A pilot program of a Community Assisted Patrol unit has been set up in both Chalk Sound and Blue Mountain, which is scheduled to launch Feb. 13. Each unit consists of four members of the neighbourhoods who have been trained and will patrol their respective communities each evening, with the intention of collecting intelligence and deterring criminals from committing crimes in their area. To date the organization of Neighbourhood Watch programs has been successful in helping combat crimes. In some areas more successfully than in others, Long Bay Hills being a prime example of a community where it has proven to be successful. Ryder says such programs are an effective, safe way to engage the community in working together with the police to fight criminality. This is especially true in times of empty governmental coffers. Community-based programs are most effective against all types of thefts, which accounted for 69 percent of all crimes in 2009. “If we want to make this country safe, we have to stand up and be counted,” Police Commissioner Hall said, calling on members of the community to tell police when they have information about a crime or a criminal who committed one. “In helping us, you will be helping yourselves,” he said. At the same time, he pointed to a lack of funding as being one of the police’s largest hurdles. “We understand the frustrations of the community at large,” Hall explained, “but without proper funding to ensure that we get the proper tools to get the job done, we are at a disadvantage.” Adams pointed to a 38 percent increase crimes countrywide in 2009 compared to 2008, but said that no additional resources have been provided for the police to combat these issues — resources he has been seeking for years. “Urgent attention needs to be placed on getting the resources that we have been requesting for 5 to 6 years.” The police have made a proposal to His Excellency Governor Gordon Wetherell and to his Advisory Council. Support and the hope of relief were offered as soon as funds are available. The country is waiting with bated breath for the promised $85 million consolidation loan to be approved so that issues like the increased crime rates can be kept in check to secure the country’s livelihood — successful tourism. While crime rates usually tend to increase in times of depressed economies and increased unemployment, with increased community support, the TCI could take advantage of the global situation by making a continuously low crime rate a differentiating factor from other Caribbean nations and making the TCI known as the safe holiday destination.
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