Crime Stoppers: Partnership with BATT 'bearing fruit'

Crime Stoppers director Darrin Carmichael says the organisation’s partnership with the Bankers Association of TT (BATT) has resulted in at least one active investigation into an instance of someone being robbed after exiting a bank.

Earlier this year, BATT partnered with Crime Stoppers after several reports of people being robbed after withdrawing large sums of cash from the bank.

Carmichael told Newsday, after BATT identified an escalation in attacks, Crime Stoppers took several immediate actions to stem the rise.

“When they brought us on board we did a couple of things immediately. We advertised in various newspapers that there is a $25,000 reward leading to the arrest of the people involved in past incidents or anybody who is currently planning attacks on people.”

He added, “We’ve had a few radio programmes promoting what individuals and business people can do to make themselves safer using banking facilities, whether be it using the ATM or withdrawing cash over the counter. We also have had several meetings with groups in communities speaking to the same thing.”

Carmichael said the public understood the robberies were “crimes of opportunity” and people had heeded the advice to minimise those opportunities.

“What we are asking is to limit the opportunities by being proactive and adopting prevention tactics. Sometimes prevention might be absolute, meaning, if you don’t have a need to put yourself at risk by going to a bank then you won’t be targeted.

"If you can use a cash-in-transit (security service) as a business owner, then you won’t put yourself or employees at risk. If people curtail negative behaviours which might put them at risk, then you remove the opportunity for the bandits and that is what people have done.”

Carmichael said he believed the advice, coupled with the reward and good policing, appears to have worked.

“The reduction in crime that we are seeing, I’m thinking it’s a direct result that criminals know that people are looking out for them and will turn them in once they hear or see anything.

"They also know that their own compatriots, cohorts, gang members or whatever they call themselves, will turn each other in on a dime for $25,000. So they know they have to limit their activity, exposure and their circle because they themselves don’t know who will turn them in for $25,000.”

He called on members of the public to utilise the Crime Stoppers hotline (800-TIPS) which he said has already yielded good information.

“There is an active investigation arising from actionable information about one of the robberies and we hope to bring in at least one culprit as a result of the information coming into the programme. So somebody probably stands to get $25,000. It could even be more than that because sometimes when you arrest one person, they are involved in multiple crimes and the police may be able to make multiple arrests.”

He said, contrary to social media claims, there has been no evidence of bank employees being involved in the robberies.

“There are no bank employees I know of that have been targeted (by investigators) for their involvement in those types of crimes. Having worked in the bank, I understand why people want to think bank employees are the first suspects. However, any member of the public can sit in the banking hall or just monitor from the outside and see activities and act on it. There have been attempted robberies with people who went to make deposits so clearly (the bandits) aren’t acting on sound information when they do things like that.”

Carmichael remained hopeful that, in addition to the ongoing investigation being fruitful, the partnership will continue to have a lasting impact.

“I think it’s the sum total of all of these efforts including that of the police which was instrumental in keeping it down. Will it keep it down forever? I am optimistic.”