Cops fear ‘field day’ for bandits

OFFICERS of the Western Division are calling on Acting Commissioner Everald Snaggs and his administration to act with haste in finding a home for the recently relocated Carenage Police Station. A senior officer told Newsday yesterday, “with the station being relocated to Four Roads station, the service to the Carenage area will be poor. “It will be a field day for criminals. With Carenage being the main area for illegal drugs, it will be a virtual free for all.” The officer spoke to Newsday following the relocation of officers from the 150-year-old building to the modern Four Roads facility after years of complaints. On Tuesday, DCP Glen Roach visited the Carenage Police Station and pleaded with officers of the station to stay because of the high level of crime in that area. The senior officer also said that “what the Commissioner should do is come out of his air-conditioned office, form a committee and visit every station to look at their working conditions.

“If Carenage and other stations like Tunapuna, St Joseph, Oro-pouche, Toco, La Brea, Roxbor-ough and others were being maintained all the time, there would have been no reason to relocate and put residents at risk. “Instead, a little maintenance work was all that had to be done.” Investigations have also revealed that while plans are afoot to relocate the Oropouche, Toco, La Brea and Roxborough stations, officers attached to the St James Barracks are also planning a walk-out because of poor conditions. In a related matter, Snaggs, while observing the Carenage officers’ rights to refuse to work under poor conditions, has ordered all police equipment removed from the station to Four Roads station to be returned immediately. Meanwhile, one sentry and head of the station, Inspector Augustus Walker, continue to operate from the Carenage Police Station.