WITH an HR audit confirming the central division is short by about 50 police officers, Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram urged constituents of Carpichaima to establish a neighbourhood watch group in their community as a deterrent against crime.
At the sixth community conversations held at Roopsing Road Development on Thursday night, Ratiram said with the increase in crime, several areas in Couva North have already set up watch groups, in collaboration with Crime Stoppers and the police.
With over 600 murders recorded in 2022, over 100 for 2023, and increasing numbers of burglaries and home invasion, Ratiram said crime cannot be ignored and residents have to try to protect themselves and their properties.
Attending the meeting were Perseverance/Waterloo councillor Dubjaj Persad, Sgt Adana Dick of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC) and WPC Coffee Joseph of the Community Police Department.
Addressing constituents, Ratiram said while he wanted to stay away from politics as crime was affecting every single citizen, National Security under resourcing of the police service was causing an inefficiency in its delivery.
For this reason, he invited residents to form a neighbourhood watch group and also select two persons to represent the area at the Freeport police council meeting, so issues and concerns about crime could be addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
He pointed to some other issues that might be contributing to the crime scourge, such as poor street lighting and a total absence in some areas.
Councillor Persad, he said, has been leading a campaign for improved street lighting in the constituency. While some lights have been installed over a period of time, Ratiram said he is still not satisfied and will continue to advocate for improvements.
Constituents also raised concerns about overgrown lots, lack of maintenance of roads, poor drainage, untimely garbage collection, as well as flooding fears during the rainy season.
Ratiram said the area, which is part of the Caroni (1975) development project was never properly vested under the authority of local government.
As a result, Ratiram said he has been making overtures to the Ministry of Agriculture to have the area properly vested into the local authority with no success to date.
With that matter pending, and the reduction from budgetary allocation of $8 million, during the People’s Partnership administration, to $2 million in this new dispensation, there are challenges to maintain water courses, drainages, roads and other related issues, he said.
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