Night of total policing

He reported that the letter was delivered by hand to the Commissioner though to date, they have not received an official response.

“Every year during the Divali and Old Year’s celebration our citizenry is inundated with explosions of fireworks, firecrackers, scratch bombs and the bursting of bamboo. While some may enjoy the sights and sounds of the explosions our elderly, our infirm, our infants and animals feel very differently,” the group wrote in its letter to Commissioner Williams.

“The practice is dangerous and the celebrations provide cover for other illegal events and cause accidents. Each season we learn of limbs being lost and other injuries to persons participating in, or simply being in the environs of, the celebrations.

For the elderly, infirm and infants the experience can lead to distress, panic and heart problems. Our animals become disoriented and run often causing accidents or themselves becoming lost or killed.” The letter stated that Sections 99 and 100 of the Summary Offences Act (which address the use of fireworks) are not regularly enforced and the group asked that this legislation governing the use of fireworks be strictly enforced to ensure controlled and responsible use of fireworks to protect our elderly, infirm, infants and animals.

“We further ask that for this coming Old Years night (Saturday December 31, 2016) the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service promote and execute a night of total policing to protect our citizenry and animals from the unlawful discharge of fireworks.” Marshall, speaking yesterday during a telephone interview, said the citizenry face the problem that every time they call the police about fireworks they get no action. “Is year after year and the police don’t take it on,” he added. The organisation is calling on people being disturbed by fireworks to call the police, give them the approximate area where the fireworks are being set off and then read the sections of the Summary Offences Act for them.

The group is also calling on citizens to get the officer’s name and rank and time of the call and the approximate response time and if no action is taken make a report to the Police Complaints Authority.

Marshall said a problem in the past was that people who called the police about fireworks and received no assistance did not keep records and they therefore could not lodge complaints.

The group, in a position paper, also called for a total ban on all noise producing fireworks.

Failing this the group advised the sale of fireworks only to licensed individuals and approved by community police and that information relevant to the licence should be published in at least one national newspaper for two consecutive days and at least one calendar week before the approved date of activity.

Animals 360 Foundation was one of the stakeholders mentioned by Minister of Public Administration and Communications Maxie Cuffie in a release on Tuesday in which he reported that suggestions about the use of fireworks were being forwarded to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi as part of an anti- scratch bomb campaign.

AG Al-Rawi called on the police to enforce the law and for the public to do their part.

Marshall, however, said that they disagree with the impression presented by the Attorney General that the current law is sufficient. The group has called for the law to be amended but in the interim for the police to enforce the existing legislation.

Attempts to contact Commissioner Williams yesterday proved futile. The issue of illegal fireworks has returned to the fore after a grandmother, Sally Ann Cuffie, was seriously injured when a scratch bomb was thrown into a car in which she was travelling. Also on Saturday scratch bombs were thrown at former Housing Development Corporation managing director Jearlean John and her sister while the two were jogging around the Queen’s Park Savannah leading them to believe they were being shot at.