3 MPs appeal for help with worsening crime in their constituencies

MPs from three Opposition-run constituencies are again appealing to the authorities to assist with the worsening crime situation in their formerly safe and secure communities.

Caroni East MP Dr Rishad Seecheran wants urgent action after Thursday’s mid-morning shooting of Anderson “Crabby” Ross while he was driving out of Madras Road.

Some 20 bullets were fired at the car, killing Crabby on the spot. Miraculously a three-year-old child who was in the back seat of the car escaped injury.

Describing this incident as “horrific,” Seecheran said it clearly illustrated that gang warfare has now extended into St Helena and was no longer confined to Kelly Village.

He expressed shock, saying, “The brazen assassination occurred in broad daylight, at a crowded intersection, in full view of motorists and opposite a popular fast-food outlet."

Seecheran said despite the increase in murders, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds has failed to implement the security measures he has repeatedly promised.

He said his pleas have not yielded any action, even after he raised the issue with CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher at the recent National Conversation on the Topic of Crime, Productivity and Economic Growth.

“It has been over a year since I asked the minister to place a police post in Kelly Village. Appeals have also been made for increased police patrols and the re-installation of working CCTV cameras along the Caroni South Bank Road.

“Minister Hinds has on three occasions, in the Parliament, made pledges to curb crime in Caroni East, none of which have been delivered.”

He said at the last parliamentary sitting, in the aftermath of a double murder a short distance from the Cunupia police station, he again pressed Hinds for security measures in the constituency.

Seecheran also said two town meetings with the police from the central division were held recently but residents and business owners who are living in constant fear have yet to see any tangible differences in their security.

He cautioned them, along with motorists and taxi drivers, to take protective measures to safeguard themselves, their families, and employees.

Seecheran and Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe stressed the adverse effect these serious crimes have on economic activity in their communities.

Bodoe referred to a series of murders in South Oropouche and Delhi Road, robberies at a gas station, a pharmacy, and other businesses in the constituency.

Businesses are now closing earlier, to the detriment of residents who require medical supplies.

At a police town meeting on Thursday night, Bodoe called for more regular police patrols and the installation of cameras.

Bodoe said he hoped some additional vehicles to be bought from the $100 million supplementations to the TTPS in the midyear budget review would be assigned to the South Western Division, and particularly to the Fyzabad and Oropouche police stations.

In the interim, he encouraged residents to form more neighbourhood watch groups and to work more closely with the police.

Caroni East MP Dinesh Rambally, speaking at the Munroe Road Town Meeting on May 9, was critical of the Prime Minister’s refusal of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's request to meet to discuss crime.

He said the situation warranted the need to unite against criminals now.

He accused Rowley of being “uncompromisingly unpatriotic” for refusing to remove Hinds as National Security Minister.

“As corruption and crime threaten to tear the fabric of our society asunder, the time for half-measures and political posturing has long since passed.

“True patriots must unite and stand as a bulwark against the forces of chaos and disorder that menace our people. No longer will justice and security be held hostage to the petty political games of an incompetent administration.”