Dear Editor,
Imagine coming home from a hard day’s work, and for the fifth time find your front door splintered and bashed in by burglars.
Imagine finding that they have crossed the threshold, that your home has been violated, your belongings ransacked, some of your most valued possessions stolen. After a few minutes of adrenalin-fuelled panic and mounting anger, what is the first thing you do? Call the Police obviously, because that is what they are there for.
Imagine crawling (tired) to the Police Station to hear that they have no patrol on duty to visit your house or to take finger prints. Imagine waiting there tired, restless and tearful, for an officer to come to work and for them to say that I have to find MY OWN transportation to take that officer to my home, for them to do their job of investigating or taking a report.
Imagine sitting there for hours while they laugh and gaff while you are awaiting this patrol to come to work.
Crucially, the great Sir Robert Peel (1829) stated (and these quotes are all from his famous principles) that: “The ability of the Police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behaviour and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.”
But this doesn’t seem to be the case here in our beautiful land of many waters. He also stated that the “basic mission for which police exist is to prevent crime and disorder” and that “the test of Police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder “.
In other words, when crime occurs, the police have some catching up to do.
I live in Plantation Block 11 Providence, East Bank Demerara, the other half is called Herstelling along the Mocha/Arcadia Road. Over the last few months, there have been a number of break-ins within the areas mentioned that I have become aware of.
Most recently – mine. It has been five times that these defiant robbers have broken into my home. I thought that they were done with me last month, but they came back four days ago. Do you still think there are things left for them to steal? Two of my close neighbours’ homes have also shared the same misfortune.
People of Guyana – have you heard anything from anyone else on this? I would do everything in my power to get the word out about this so that we can hopefully deter whoever is responsible – or hopefully do anything in my power to get this person/s caught, with or without the help of the failing Police Force.
I do not know the exact number of homes that have been broken into, but I do know that it has been several just within the past couple of months.
All of the break-ins are occurring during the morning/early afternoon (working hours/bright daylight) when persons are at work. Stolen items include laptops, cameras, jewellery, Televisions, stereos – large items that I am assuming that someone must be seeing these robbers exiting your home with.
On the fourth occasion they broke my window to enter the house. Didn’t anyone hear? Did they call the Police? Oh yes, the Police probably didn’t have a patrol available to visit!
There are a lot of people on edge right now (including my daughter who is petrified to sleep alone – all of her school things for the new term stolen) because of this, my hope is that the Police know of the recent activities and that they would be conducting additional patrols in the area, if possible.
Sincerely,
Pretrina Quintin
