Security cameras being considered for Charlottesville

Consideration is being given to installing CCTV cameras in Charlotteville to provide a measure of security, but villagers can help the police by taking the initiative and buying cameras for areas prone to security lapses.

So suggested Assistant Commissioner of Police, Tobago Divisio, Garfield Moore at a police town meeting at the Charlottesville Methodist school last Wednesday evening.

In response to residents highlighted security concerns and calls for more police patrols and greater surveillance, Moore said that in a meeting Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, “we raise a proposal for Tobago to get some more cameras.”

“Charlottesville is an area that is without camera. However private cameras are not expensive and villages can consider them. As a community you can come together and purchase cameras for a particular

area where several people live. There are ways we can assist each other in a partnership,” he said.

Residents also raised concerns about customer service and noise pollution during this Christmas season and for Charlottesville police officers to practice confidentiality when dealing with concerns from the public.

Senior Superintendent Joanne Archie advised the villagers to mentor young people, and asked members of the community to alert the Tobago police when unknown persons come into the area, saying that persons come to Tobago to hide out after committing offences in Trinidad.

“From the time a stranger comes into your area, you will know. You cannot say that is not your business because it will become your business since whatever he is running from will trace him down to Tobago where he is hiding. In this case innocent people can be harmed,” she contended.

“We not only have the enforcement of the tough side of policing, but we engage communities, and that is the proactive measures. If we can get the youth clubs to engage in the community with parents and if we can touch the children before they reach the age where they may be inclined to go the other way, it means we are doing something to prevent crime,” she said.

“Crime fighting is not just about arresting people, it’s about engaging and dealing with the social issues in the community. However, the police cannot always get it right. If we have to work together there must be some level of trust,” she said.

One villager, a Mr Brown, recommended that the police enforce harsh penalties on delinquent school children.

“I say charge them for loitering because they are supposed to be in school and when their parents come, lock them up and charge them. When we allow this, some of these children become a nuisance, the village is affected, and we don’t want that. Taxpayers are paying too much to provide them with books, lunches, laptops and so many other things and what comes out of this? At the end of the day they rushing to work URP until they die. They come out and still expect the state to assist them and if the government is unable to mind them from the cradle to the grave, they go out to thief or sell drugs,” Mr Brown said.

He also recommended that the period for training new police officers be extended from six months to one year and that emphasis be placed on the psychological and sociological aspects of the training.