South business group happy over police/army patrols in Sando

San Fernando Business Association (SBA) president Daphne Bartlett has expressed the association’s appreciation for the National Security Minister’s quick response in instituting joint police/army patrols within the southern city. In an interview last Thursday, Bartlett also revealed that shops and stores would open their doors to include Sunday shopping, beginning tomorrow. Bartlett said that after the recent killing on High Street, San Fernando of a 17-year-old sales clerk and an escalation in petty and other crimes, storeowners expressed fears for their personal safety as well as those of shoppers and employees. “However, with the introduction of the joint police/army patrols, store owners are feeling much safer,” Bartlett said.

She compared the mood of SBA members during the past two meetings, saying that a meeting two weeks ago, business persons had “despaired” over the spate of criminal activity. “But at last Monday’s meeting, everyone was smiling.  It was a drastic change and we expect a return of shoppers to the heart of the city,” Bartlett said. Meanwhile, a stroll along High Street, San Fernando yesterday seemed to confirm Bartlett’s view that while the streets were crowded with shoppers, there was also a highly visible police presence along the city’s main shopping thoroughfare.

Police officers, accompanied by members of the Defence Force, were also observed speaking to several young men, who, in full school uniform, had congregated in front of a commercial bank during school hours. The teens, after a brief discussion with the officers, left the bank’s premises to the delight of several passersby, who complimented the officers for speaking to the youths. One lady, who did not wish to be identified, said that the patrols had not only made the city’s streets much safer, but had made walking along the pavements an “enjoyable experience. “We need the police and the army to be on the streets all of the time and not only during the Christmas season,” she said.