Taxi drivers concerned as hijacking on the incresae

Jan 10, 2009 News

Over the past week, there has been a marked increase in the number of cases of carjacking in and around Georgetown. Two taxis being stolen within four days of each other.
A senior police source noted that carjacking has been a trend in Guyana since the late 1990s.
It was a copy cat crime that was brought to Guyana by many of the deportees who had been returned to Guyana from North America.
Some of the taxi drivers based at the Stabroek Market said that they were disturbed that taxis had been attacked.
They noted that, despite the fact that crime seemed to have lessened in the country, their profession was not very safe, as it was almost impossible to tell if the passengers that were picked up were criminals or not.
“We must be scared, this work is not safe; but you gotta work, or else you starve,” said one taxi driver. He added that, since he has been working as a taxi driver (approximately one year), he had heard of countless cases where taxi drivers have been robbed, usually of the money they had earned during the day.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said that, over the years, the police had tried a variety of things to combat carjacking. Road blocks had been suggested, where the passengers of the taxis would be searched, but many taxi drivers had apparently not liked this idea, saying that it was bad for business.
More recently, the idea of enclosing the taxi driver in a cage, similar to the way taxis are designed in North America, was mooted, but the cost of doing this was the deterrent.
“It is a cost which someone will need to incur,” said Persaud. “And I don’t think the Government will bear that cost.”
He also said that the idea of a panic button was discussed, where, when pressed, a signal would be sent to the police or to taxi bases, alerting them that something was amiss.
This, too, was apparently never put into action, largely due to the implementation cost.
According to Persaud, the police continue to work with their intelligence, and use descriptions of the carjackers to try to bring them to justice.
At approximately 20:40 hours last Tuesday evening, at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, Ian Hitkin was attacked by three men, two of whom were armed with handguns.
He was relieved of his vehicle, mobile phone, a pair of boots and $10,000 in cash.
Similarly, on Saturday night last, Orin Bruce was relieved of his car (PJJ 5288) and $9,000 in cash by two bandits armed with knives, while in the vicinity of Conversation Tree, in Georgetown.
Both men were working as taxi drivers when they were robbed. In both instances, the bandits had posed as passengers before robbing the taxi drivers.

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