Senior police officer calls for bars to close earlier

A senior police officer from the Southern Division is appealing to the authorities to close bars earlier because of the crime scourge in the country. Some bars operate on a round-the-clock basis.

Head of the San Fernando CID, Insp Don Gajadhar said the police’s hands are full when it comes to patrolling. “We are continuing to do bar patrols and searches based on the high level of violence we are seeing . There are over 30 bars within the city and it is becoming increasingly difficult to police all of them. We cannot patrol a bar 24/ 7.” He is proposing a closing time of between midnight and 2am.

Gajadhar made the comment in light of the latest incident where a man was arrested with a loaded gun inside the Bartenders Bar at the corner of Cipero and Sutton Streets in San Fernando on Saturday morning.

According to reports, shortly before 5 am, members of the Southern Division Task Force led by Sgt Dinoo, along with PCs Griffith and Narine, went to the Bartenders Bar in San Fernando where they saw a man sitting at the bar drinking . As the police approached, the man got up and began walking towards the door. The police stopped him and searched him and found a 9mm gun fitted with a magazine containing 12 rounds of ammunition. The gunman was arrested and taken into custody.

Gajadhar recalled that just last week Friday, Stephen Pope, 65, the father of the owner of Hashtag Bar on Cipero Street, was shot dead while four other people were wounded during a shooting incident at the bar.

The senior officer said it takes a lot of time and energy to patrol all the bars but police also have a responsibility to the residents in other parts of the city .