We must use the technology

Aug 09, 2011 Editorial

There has been talk about cameras being installed in and around the city. Few of us have seen them, but we have to take the word of the authorities that they do exist and that they are working.
Since their installation we have not been told anything about whether they have helped in solving some of the incidents that have occurred. For example, a man reported that his car was stolen. This car was found in a bond, stripped. Photographs of the car have appeared on the front page of the Kaieteur News and they reveal the work of an expert crew.
It would be a rather rhetorical question should one ask about the reason for stealing cars. We know that the people who sell motor spares would prefer to buy the parts from a stolen car than to import the parts from the manufacturers. For one, there are no shipping costs involved; there are no taxes (value added tax included); there is no need for foreign exchange.
In the past some of these dealers recruited young boys who would target cars. The dealers would indicate the make and model of the cars for which they would require spare parts and send out these young men.
In quite a few cases the search left death in its wake. The young men would set out to hire a taxi and when the driver reaches a certain location, the ‘passengers’ would hold him up. The drivers are bound to react and in the cases that we remember, the men killed them, then took the car to the dealer.
In one instance, the men actually took the car with the bloodied seats to the dealer who panicked and called the police.
These days, the stripping is done at a remote location and the parts transported to the dealer who would pay a token to what he would have paid had he imported the vehicle or the parts.
Car theft is common in every country, but more often than not the stolen cars are shipped to Third World countries where they are sold to unsuspecting buyers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been able to track these cars to the destination and recover them.
This is because each car has a specific mark or number which must be placed on the bill of lading. The bills of lading are examined and the rest is commonsense.
A few such cars have ended up in Guyana. People in mostly the United States rented them and shipped them out of the country. These days there is not too much of this because systems have been put in place. The shipper must produce proof of ownership among other documents.
This then brings us to the issue at hand. We are not aware that the Guyana Revenue Authority pays routine checks on the spare parts dealers. These people must keep books. The records would show the stock in hand and provide an excellent idea of the imports. Anything that was not imported, but procured and placed among the stock, must evoke questions.
However, the police can also help. If a car is stolen in the city then an examination of the cameras would reveal the direction in which the car was heading. These cameras are supposed to see the vehicles as they pass by.
For example, in the case of the recent hijacking, the cameras at the junction of Sheriff Street and the Rupert Craig Highway would have told the authorities that the car headed up the East Coast of Demerara. The cameras at Ogle would indicate that it really was taken out of the city.
We notice that not too many robberies are occurring in the city and we can only conclude that the cameras are proving to be a deterrent. But we must maximize their use. In addition, many business places have cameras that can supplement those installed by the state. The authorities must rely on them.
Carjacking can be reduced to the annals of history if only we use the available technology.

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