Driving old car ‘Betsy’

Things have become so bad that the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce is looking into renting at least one extra vehicle to assist the police officers in engaging in more patrols during the Christmas Season and beyond.

This was the outcome of a discussion forum hosted by the Chamber at its Couva headquarters on Thursday evening between members of the business community and two police officers who represented the Couva Police Station. Officers began the meeting by detailing the methods they have been using to tackle the issue of rising crime. The officers highlighted their plans for continuing the fight in the near future.

In their turn, some business owners complained about the absence of sufficient police patrols on afternoons, while others complained about slow response times of police to reports of robberies or requests for assistance. Delicately responding to simmering tempers in the room, Sgt Piquette of the Couva Police Station apologized for where the police have fallen short, but begged for the understanding of the business community.

Apart from being given only three cars to service all of Penal and outlying districts to respond to a myriad of crimes officers have been forced to frequently repair ‘Betsy’ themselves, as bureaucracy in the Police Service could result in a vehicle being out of commission for a minimum of three months, for repairs (sometimes minor) to be effected.

Sgt Piquette said the police officers’ time is spent performing traffic duties instead of dealing with reports of crime after traffic wardens were no longer assigned to Couva.

Police’s ability to effect patrols are further hampered whenever a murder occurs as at least one out of the pool of three cars must be used to escort the body to the Forensic Science Centre in St James and escort it from the Centre to the Funeral Home. Business owners offered to collaborate with police officers to alleviate the problems. “This came as no surprise to us,” said Liaquat Ali, President of the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce. “Police manpower has been an issue not just in Couva but throughout the country. We at the Chamber recognize the limited number of vehicles available and we will be looking at the possibility of renting a vehicle and making it available to the Couva police station.” The police also plan to look into collaborating with Municipal Police assigned to the Couva/ Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation to utilize the corporation’s two marked police vehicles, if and when needed.