Officers at the Barataria Police District have boasted of a 30% reduction in serious crime.
At a recently concluded town meeting, held at the Barataria Community Centre on March 25th, Senior Superintendent for the North Eastern Division Mervyn Edwards shared with residents that the division experienced a 30 per cent reduction in serious crimes.
Snr Supt Edwards shared that from Jan 1st to March 25th, 2023 the Barataria Policing district received reports of 100 serious crimes. In contrast, for 2024 for the corresponding period, they received 70 reports, this is a 30 per cent reduction and they currently have a 19 per cent solvency rate.
The Senior Superintendent shares that the division is working towards a 30 to 35 per cent solvency rate.
In his remarks, he also shared that for the same period last year, the division experienced 28 murders as compared to 14 year-to-date. He shared that the systems put in place are helping. He pointed out that last year the Blanchisseuse/Maracas district experienced 11 homicides for the period and up until the town meeting there were no murders in that district.
Some of the challenges were also highlighted by the divisional commander, such as motor vehicle larceny in the Aranguez, El Socorro, Barataria and as far as Mt. Lambert districts.
The Senior Superintendent went on to share that on March 22nd, there was a report of larceny motor vehicle and Insp Sunil Bharath and his team were able to thwart the assailant, arrest him and bring him before the courts.
Snr Supt Edwards continued that a vehicle was recovered five minutes after it was reported stolen, he said this was his team utilizing Active Directed Patrols and Precision Policing.
He reminded the community that progress is sometimes slow, but it does not mean that you are not progressing for the better.
Snr Supt Edwards made a final appeal to residents stating that in the Morvant, Barataria and San Juan districts, people were conducting sales on WhatsApp and Facebook marketplace which were proving to be a challenge. He told the residents “Any deal that looks too good to be true, is too good to be true.” He advised that they should search for legitimate service providers.
He reminded residents that his office is open every Wednesday from 9 am – 1 pm. If they felt there were things that they could not share at this venue, they could visit his office, he shared that several persons would have visited his office and had their matters resolved.
The floor was opened to residents who shared concerns about double parking, noise pollution and parking in front of their driveways. The head table addressed the concerns or assigned officers to assist the residents with their concerns.
Another resident made an impassioned plea for officers to be equipped with the necessary tools to perform their jobs, as he shared that he and other residents heard rapid gunshots ringing out late into the night/early morning in the Aranguez East area. The resident said he wanted the officers to be safe and protected.
One Barataria resident shared that he has two autistic nephews who sometimes become violent and difficult to restrain, they often have to rely on the assistance of the officers of the Barataria Police Station, the resident thanked the officers, and he also shared that the station also provided him and his family with counselling and he thanked the officers for their assistance.
Another resident approached the microphone, a father, who also shared that he would have taken his daughter to the station for an undisclosed situation and the officers spoke with her and helped them in their time of need.
Before the close of the meeting, the head table offered their office days where persons could come to see them or they provided their contacts to the residents should they require additional assistance.
The residents were told within a fortnight they would return to see how the division was progressing and to report back to the residents on what was happening within their divisions.