By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
The Trelawny Chamber of Commerce has pointed to the need for a more visible police presence on the streets of Falmouth, the parish capital, in the wake of an increase in violent crimes in the area.
Such a presence, the Chamber, argued, would pose a deterrent to the criminal activity in the town.
Dennis Sievwright, President of the Chamber wants the police to be more visible on days when commercial activity is at its busiest - especially on Wednesday when Falmouth hosts the Caribbean's biggest flea market- 'Ben dung Market'.
He also belives the police have been negligent in terms of late night patrols in the town.
"Certain guys will hang out on certain corners at nights, and in order to prevent any illegal activity from going down, we need to see the police frequently on the streets," insisted Mr. Sievwright.
His challenge to the police comes at a time when members of the Chamber have fallen prey to armed robbers in recent times. Between February and the middle of May, reports of seven business establishments in Falmouth being robbed came to the attention of the police. The police have theorized that other incidents may have gone un-reported.
Voicing the view that the police need to augment its staff complement in Trelawny, Mr. Sievwright explained that since outsiders as well as some insiders carry out numerous acts of theft on market days, it is important for the police to be physically intermingling with the crowd and patrolling on those days, as a precautionary measure.
KEEPING A KEEN EYE
However, the police hierarchy in Trelawny is insisting that it is keeping a keen eye on activities in the parish and that it has been intensifying its patrols in both volatile and non-volatile areas of the parish.
But, despite several raids and patrols in the troubled Racecourse/Falmouth Gardens area of the parish, the Falmouth Police have not yet arrested anyone in connection with the gang rivalry and flurry of shootings taking place in the community. "We have on a daily basis taken persons in custody for questioning, with regards to the shooting incidents in Falmouth Gardens, but to date most have been released and no one has been charged in connection with the crime problems in Falmouth Gardens," a senior police officer told The Gleaner.
Falmouth Gardens has been in the public spotlight during the last three months as shooting incidents, reprisals and armed robberies have escalated in the community.
