IMPOTENT POLICE

San Fernando  Mayor Junia Regrello yesterday slammed the “office mentality” of the San Fernando City Municipal police describing them as “impotent”, “void of ideas” and not contributing to the development of the city.

At yesterday’s statutory meeting of the corporation, Regrello said, “They are fully responsible for the mayhem that currently exists with vendors on High and Mucurapo Streets. (This is) much to the annoyance of pedestrians and inconvenience to businesses who sustain the city by paying taxes and providing employment.

There is a lack of support from the municipal police. We have been here eight months now and we have been talking about these issues for quite a while now.”

Regrello told the council meeting at City Hall, Harris Promenade, he undertook a tour of High and Mucurapo Streets recently and he pointed out several illegal structures, but his instructions to the city police have fallen on deaf ears. He said the police employed by the city are lacking the will to get things done.

“They are void of ideas and are literally impotent. They need management down there.”

The People’s National Movement controls the council in all nine municipal districts. The United National Congress has an alderman in the person of Shane Samlal.

Regrello said he observed vendors were crowding the pavement with two cots each on which they display their merchandise.

“I am calling on the Minister of Local Government and the officer in charge for an investigation into the operation or lack of activity by the San Fernando City municipal police.” He told the council, while he is sympathetic to the city police’s manpower shortage, it ought not to affect their willingness to work. He said out of the required complement of 54, there are only 19 city police.

“They need to tell their head office about the lack of manpower. They have 19 but what is lacking is the willingness to get the work done.”

So incensed by the lack of policing on the streets, Regrello announced he had sent a memo to the San Fernando Municipal police administrative offices informing them he would not require the services of municipal officers during yesterday’s meeting.

“If you observe, I am entitled to a police officer. I have not had one because there is a shortage of manpower and, in any shortage of manpower, I told them don’t send an officer with me. I didn’t ask for any officers to accompany me upstairs this morning.

I saw two arrive and I informed them that I wrote a memo that if you have a shortage of manpower, go out on the street and get the work done. I don’t want two persons stand by the door and say ‘stand’ for the mayor to enter. I don’t want you walking around with a gun. You go out there and get the work done.”

Meanwhile, people have expressed concern that a man could whip out a cutlass and chop up a bag of mangoes for sale on High Street, San Fernando in full view of pedestrians and shoppers.

One pedestrian observed that anything from fresh seasonings and flowers to handbags, shoes and toys, could be purchased from vendors from the bottom to the top of High Street, not to mention the loud blaring music from roadside disk jockeys.