Cops to patrol city from tonight

Police officers from all sections in the Port-of-Spain Division will join other officers from the Inter Agency Task Force in night patrols in Port-of-Spain, in a bid to deal with the gang-related murders and shootings. The directive came yesterday from Deputy Commissioner Oswyn Allard who ordered that officers assigned to desk duties, and those attached to Court and Process, Fingerprint, Modus Operandi, photography and other sections be rostered to carry out night patrols on a roster basis. The patrols will start from tonight. The intention is to have a highly visible police/army presence in the city at nights.

Senior officers told Newsday that based on recent shootings and murders, the criminal activities have shifted out of the crime hot spots. They feel that the heavy presence of officers in Port-of-Spain would serve as a deterrant to those criminal elements who may wish to turn Port-of-Spain into the wild wild west. The night patrols were first introduced last Christmas and police officers claimed  they assisted in reducing crime. Newsday learnt that the night patrols would also be introduced in other divisions shortly. One senior officer said yesterday that police are determined to win the war against the criminals and they would carry out round the clock foot and mobile patrols to send a message to the bandits.