Community involvement without assistance from police will not work

Aug 03, 2008 News

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By Dale Andrews

Last week I had a sense of what the residents of Lusignan went through when gunmen raided their village and their calls to the police for assistance fell on deaf ears.

I, for one, support the investigation launched by the Police Office of Professional Responsibilities into the police response at Lusignan.

Like many, I feel that whatever action was taken as a result of that investigation was justified, although some might argue that it was unfair to the men and women in uniform who are paid pittances and are expected to confront dangerous criminals, who are armed to the teeth with some of the most deadly assault rifles.

But the public is expected to rely on these same men and women in uniform to at least respond appropriately to calls for help when under attack.

My case was not a case of gunmen running amok in a village – in fact it was just a mere thief that was spotted by residents committing his act in the wee hours of the morning.

It was Tuesday morning at about two o’clock and I had just gotten out of my bed for a much needed drink of water when a neighbour who runs a nighttime snackette summoned me to my window.

She related to me that she had seen someone strange in the nearby yard of an overseas-based Guyanese, who was carrying out some construction work.

Now I have come to know my adopted home village of Nabaclis as a quiet East Coast Demerara community that boasted of never having suffered an armed robbery during the years of heightened criminal activity.

From Mahaicony to Bel Air – the entire police ‘C’ Division – the residents of Nabaclis, for some strange reason, have never had to endure bandits with high powered weapons or even those young opportunists.

Maybe the bandits know something about the people of Nabaclis that they choose not to tangle with them.
But what happened on Tuesday night convinced me that the bandits are wise enough not to ply their trade in the village.

Within minutes of contacting me, the neighbour quietly alerted other members from her household who came out and surrounded the construction sight since they were convinced that the thief was not aware of what was in store for him.

But the main thrust of this article is the reaction I got from the police at the Cove and John station when I contacted them for assistance.

I believe that the villagers, knowing that I am a reporter who covered the crime beat, were convinced that if anyone could get the police to respond to a call for help it was me.

But I am now convinced that they know little about the workings of some members of the Guyana Police Force.

While my fellow villagers surrounded the construction site, I first contacted the enquiries office at the Cove and John Police Station since the ranks there are familiar with me calling them on several occasions.

I told the rank on duty of the request for assistance, but I was not prepared for the response I got.
Now Nabaclis is just a stone’s throw away from the Cove and John Police Station.

The rank on duty who sounded like if she had just come out of a deep slumber told me that the driver for the patrol vehicle that serves the Paradise/Ann’s Grove area was not feeling well and would not be able to drive the vehicle to take ranks to the scene. That was the first bit of unexpected rubbish I had heard in a long time.

Knowing the ropes, I contacted the Operations Room at the Cove and John station and requested that a patrol be contacted to respond to the scene.

I know that there are several patrols along the East Coast of Demerara in the various police sub-divisions and I expected that they could be contacted to fill in for their colleagues if the need arises.

But the rank at the Operation Room bluntly told me that she could not contact any other patrol, only the Duty Officer could do so. To say I was shocked is being polite.

I remonstrated with the rank that this was a case where the people were calling for assistance and there should be no ifs or buts.

Now I know that on many occasions the police are reluctant to respond to acts of serious criminality, especially when the perpetrators are using high-powered weapons.

But this was a case of a petty thief who was probably unarmed and no match for a well trained police patrol unit.

With disgust I hung up the telephone and again contacted the Enquiries Office and this time I got a more favourable response – a patrol was on its way.

With this assurance I ventured out of my home to provide whatever assistance that my fellow villagers needed.

We are not trained to tackle criminals like the police so we all took up positions around the property and waited for the police who would venture into the yard to confront the thief who we were convinced was trapped in the yard.

It took a while before the police arrived and to my surprise, I recognized the ranks as those from the same Cove and John patrol, who I was told could not respond because of a sick driver.

When I told them what I was told they were all surprised, since according to them they would have been ready to respond to the initial request for help.

Like true professionals, two of the ranks – a Lance Corporal and a Neighbourhood Police – ventured into the yard with me in tow.

But it was obvious that by then the thief had somehow managed to slip through the villagers’ makeshift cordon.

After exhausting the search the ranks left with a promise to return at daybreak to collect a jackass cart with animal which was left behind by the unsuccessful thief.

A point to note is that had the villagers managed to get their hands on the thief, only God knows what might have been the outcome. And then the police would have had to conduct an investigation of a more serious nature.

There have been several calls for community involvement in the fight against crime but no community involvement will be successful without the direct assistance of the police.

Last Tuesday morning’s experience does not inspire much hope of a successful fight against crime.
I did not report this incident to the divisional commander who I know very well and who I know would have dealt with it in the sternest manner.

I chose to highlight it in this article so that instead of one division being upbraided, the entire police force will wake up and realize that their motto is to “serve and protect”.

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