Mayor: Chaguanas fights crime at ground level

THE PEOPLE of Chaguanas will be joining forces with the police to take the fight to the criminals street by street.

This was the disclosure yesterday by Chaguanas Mayor Suruj Rambachan.  Mayor Rambachan told Newsday yesterday that he has been meeting with head of the Police Central Division Snr Supt Phillip Carmona to discuss ways of dealing with crime in the borough. Rambachan revealed that over the next three weeks he will accompany Carmona and a team of police officers and, Chaguanas Borough Corporation councillors on a visit to all of the borough’s eight electoral districts.  The mayor explained that the purpose of this exercise will be to gain first hand information from the residents about crime in their areas and, find ways of dealing with it. He said that unless the community becomes involved with the police, the war against crime can never be won.

Rambachan also disclosed that an advisory committee headed by prominent Central Trinidad businessman Azad Abass-Ali and comprising several former Chaguanas mayors, has been formed to devise anti-crime strategies. Last week, newly-elected Mayor of San Fernando Ian Atherly spoke of his own plans to coordinate police and community efforts to fight crime. Rambachan said there was considerable work to be done in Chaguanas and he was trying “to operate with private sector practices” within the Corporation.  The mayor added that the corporation has lots of resources at its disposal, it has to cut through a lot of bureaucratic red tape if it is to function properly and, he was encouraging those under him “to work at the mental level”. “People change organisations,” he stated. Mayor Rambachan also spoke of plans to develop the Chaguanas market, urban centre and launch a clean-up of the borough.