Police maintain presence throughout PoS

Officers of the Port of Spain Division, the Port of Spain City Police and the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) maintained a visible presence throughout the city of Port of Spain and Laventille for both Indian Arrival Day and Corpus Christi celebrations according to senior officers yesterday.

Speaking with Newsday, sources reported that officers were out in their numbers to ensure safety and security of the public as they went about their business. One senior officer remarked that the streets of Port of Spain were the cleanest he had seen them in years and said he was happy with the work done by the various station districts within the Port of Spain Division.

He said in addition to routine traffic exercises, officers of the IATF conducted foot patrols along the back roads and alleys of East Port of Spain communities like John John, Gonzales, Bath Street and St Paul Street in an effort to crack down on criminals and also to build rapport with residents in the neighbourhood.

“The streets were as clean as a whistle. I didn’t even see a person outside their homes smoking. We were out to show the people that we are still in their communities and we are here to try and build better relations with them.

“A lot of the residents in these areas are fed up of the crime and violence too, so we are here to help them however best we can. This is our promise to the people,” one senior officer said.

The senior officer also told Newsday that criminals were tipped off to the location of road blocks and other exercises along the east-west corridor and believed this may have been the work of errant police officers. He said in light of this, he changed his tactics at the last minute to prevent criminals from utilising weak points to try and avoid police.

“It was unfortunate what I saw with some officers, so I took the time to get out of the vehicle and go out on patrols in these areas to ensure that the criminals had nowhere to hide and it paid off.”