Criminals watching the police

CRIMINAL elements in the country have apparently been observing the patrol patterns of the “Second Strike” squad, and also use cell phones and lookouts to warn of the movements of the joint police/army contingent.

This was stated in a two-page release yesterday from the Task Force Public Affairs Office on the Inter-agency Task Force Operation, “Second Strike”. The release blamed these reasons for the hike in the murder rate within the last two weeks, and also said that the continued murders appear to be revenge killings. Questioned yesterday, a senior official within the two protective services told Newsday that since “Second Strike” started on May 8, patrols have reported seeing people using cellphones on the blocks. The official also said that the joint police/army patrols have heard people calling out to others, informing them that patrols are coming. Asked if there were possible leaks from the two divisions, the official said there was no evidence to support this, but was mindful of the fact that there were reports of leaks during Operation Anaconda. “Yes, we were aware of reports of leaks in Operation Anaconda, but we have no evidence to suggest there are leaks in ‘Second Strike’,” the senior official told Newsday. However, another source said they believe there are internal leaks made out of fear or economic reasons. 

That source told Newsday that this is where TSTT will have to play a role, but stated that it will be a handicap in terms of people’s privacy.  “These are the kinds of things we are up against,” the source said. The statement also said the aim of “Second Strike” was two-fold: to deter criminal activity, by identifying and detaining criminal elements in the area of operation; to retore law and order; and to render community assistance through civil affairs programmes, which seek to strenghten the capacity of these communities to treat with the situation. “Second Strike” will operate in four phases, but is still in phase one which involves aggressive patrolling, snap road blocks, and searches. The statement also said that for this week, 22 people suspected of committing serious crimes including murder were arrested and are in police custody, and that six hand guns have also been seized. It was also pointed out in the release that witnesses are afraid to come forward to identify suspects because they fear for their lives.