After vicious home-invasion, cops urge: Form neighbourhood watch groups

POLICE in North Eastern Division are commending the work of a neighbourhood watch group in Aranguez whose members helped alert officers to a home-invasion where a family of five was badly beaten and robbed on Sunday night.

Police said Fazeela Ghany, her parents Rasheed and Rasheeda Ghany and other relatives were at their Ramlal Street, Aranguez home at around 8.14 pm when four bandits stormed the house through an open gate.

The bandits assaulted Rasheed and Rasheeda and threatened to shoot them.

A 15-year-old relative was also badly beaten by the bandits who used a metal curtain rod as a weapon.

Speaking with Newsday at the home on Tuesday, Fazeela said she was still shaken after the incident and is unsure how to better secure her home after the attack.

She noted that despite having sturdy gates and security cameras, bandits continue to target her family, as she revealed her brother had been robbed six times over the past ten years.

Ghany said she relied on a neighbourhood WhatsApp group to call for help.

"I kept dialling 911 and all I was hearing was that I should hold for the next available operator.

"I then realised I had the neighbourhood watch chat group.

"In a situation like that I couldn't type, I just sent a voice note in the group calling for help.

"About six minutes after I sent that out, a police inspector who is in the same group, told me he was on the way." A man believed to be one of the bandits was shot and killed by police who responded to the incident.

Ghany said the incident was deeply unsettling to her family and she called on the police to increase their presence in the community.

Noting that her home is in a relatively secluded part of Aranguez, far from the main roads, she said better police visibility is crucial in deterring future attacks.

Contacted for comment on Tuesday, a North Eastern Division police source said there are continuous patrols in that community but officers also encouraged residents especially those living in relatively remote neighbourhoods to form groups in order to spread information and call for help during emergencies.

"We need to thank the neighbours since the only reason the bandits were held was because there was a neighbourhood watch with a WhatsApp group who alerted us quickly.

"Such groups are definitely a step in the right direction and we need to have more engagements like this among residents where they look out for each other."

The officer said bandits responsible for home-invasions in Aranguez are usually from outside the area and are from Port of Spain, Laventille and Sea Lots.

He said in some instances bandits would drive through a particular neighbourhood a few days before a robbery to examine the area.

The officer said police should also take the time to speak with residents and visitors in neighbourhoods to get more information on who were the strangers.

"It was something planned because this is something they are accustomed doing. They're not just picking up themselves to just go to John Doe's house. The officers need to be vigilant and look out and engage them a bit more."

Councillor for Aranguez/Warner Village Amit Sooknanan also visited the family to extend support and said while he is grateful for the quick response from neighbours in the WhatsApp group, he hopes future attacks can be prevented with a better partnership within the community.

Sooknanan lamented that while home-invasions and praedial larceny are common in Aranguez, it could be quelled once the police are willing to engage the residents.

"It's amazing to see how it (the WhatsApp group) worked because we have vigilant police officers in these groups who are waiting to respond.

"We want everyone to be vigilant on their phones and make full use of the social media platforms.

"We don't have guns or ammunition, we can't do anything on our own so we have to use the WhatsApp groups as our means of protecting ourselves."