Police crackdown leaves drivers, commuters fuming

A SERIES of co-ordinated police exercises along highways and main thoroughfares during rush-hour traffic on July 18 has left thousands of workers and drivers fuming.

Drivers reported police road checks along the westbound lanes of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, the Lady Young Road, Eastern Main Road and Debe Highway, among other routes.

Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations Junior Benjamin said the police action is part of its strategy to deploy high visibility.

"We said that it was coming, and it is part and parcel of us looking at trends," he said in a phone interview.

Benjamin said apart from focusing on crime hotspots, the police are aware that guns are being moved around the country in cars.

He dismissed a suggestion that the police action was akin to the 2015 Day of Total Policing, when officers embarked on a series of unsanctioned roadblocks snarling traffic across the country for several hours, purportedly over the slow pace of wage negotiations.

"This is something properly co-ordinated."

The directive is coming from the Commissioner of Police, seeking to have operations in place to restore a sense of safety and security, he said.

Benjamin asked the public to co-operate with officers and to exercise patience, as the intention was "really to address the crime situation."

The police action follows 19 murders over the last weekend and meetings of the National Security Council.