Police customer service, visibility, and parenting were some of the main topics of discussion at a town meeting hosted by the Cunupia Police Station at the Warrenville Regional Complex on Wednesday night.
In his opening address, Central Division senior superintendent Michael Pierre appealed to the residents to work with the police in fighting crime. He asked people to think about how they could partner with the police to make their environment a safer place.
Pierre said a lack of proper parenting was a contributing factor to crime, and many residents agreed.
Warrenville Presbyterian Church chairman Kenneth Ramhai said police visibility was low in the area and the residents needed to see more patrols to feel safe and to deter criminals. He said the police needed to police who they admitted to their ranks.
“The police need to have better intelligence. Right now there are over 1,000 officers before the courts and it tells a bad story. The intelligence unit isn’t doing its job. Also, when you call the police to report a crime, they will tell you they don’t have a vehicle. Anything you want to get done, you have to appeal to those higher up.”
Another resident said if police officers were found to be involved in criminal activities, they should be fired immediately, and if they found it was unjust, they should take it up with the Industrial Court.
[caption id="attachment_1017964" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Anthony Harper makes a forceful point during the police town hall meeting. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB -[/caption]
Pierre said the figures being quoted were wildly inaccurate. He said however it did show that the service was not hesitant to purge itself.
“If we have police officers engaging in criminal activity, we will put them before the courts. If there are people doing illegal activities, we will arrest them. Those are choices that people make.”
He said he understood the wish for more visibility and a plan was being worked on for the Cunupia area.
“It is something we have been working on. Our first priority is presence, and we know we are not as visible as you would like us to be, although I will say we have both marked and unmarked vehicles, so sometimes we are present and you wouldn’t see us.”
Caroni East alderman Chandricka Sookdeo, following a presentation by the Fire Service, recommended building plans be run through the service for approval in addition to Town and Country Planning and WASA.
He shared an incident where he had gone to the police station when there were two officers on duty and was told that neither of them could leave the station as there had to be two people on duty at all times.
Pierre said response has commonly been a sore point, and the officers who turned people away were doing foolishness.
[caption id="attachment_1017962" align="alignnone" width="1024"] FACING QUESTIONS: From left, Snr Supt Intab Ramjohn, Snr Supt Michael Pierre and ASP Mukesh Dipchand listen to queries raised by residents at a police town meeting on Wednesday night at the Warrenville Regional
