A reported increase in the number of armed robberies in eastern New Providence in the last two months has created widespread concerns among residents and has resulted in police inviting more persons to come forward to be district constables.
Superintendent Shannodor Evans, officer in charge of the Elizabeth Estates Police Station, made that disclosure during an interview with The Bahama Journal Monday.
“About 30 persons attended a meeting at the home of one of the residents in the area [on Sunday]. We also used the opportunity [to recruit] additional district constables and about 15 persons expressed an interest in assuming such a position,” he said.
“And so this is something that we are looking at for the not too distant [future].”
However, he did not provide any specific numbers about incidents of crime in recent times.
Inspector Bruce Arnett and officers in the Englerston community have over the past two years been pushing the concept of district constables almost two years ago.
The aim is for residents to serve as a buffer in the community. According to Inspector Arnett, district constables are empowered by law to police their districts.
The programme has spread in various communities, including Nassau Village, St. Cecilia, Pinewood and some areas of Abaco.
The initiative comes as some residents in the Eastern district have also sought to reactivate crime watch groups.
In fact, according to Superintendent Evans, residents in three communities – including Winton Estates – have adopted the strategy after witnessing an increasing number of armed robberies and rapes in their neighbourhoods over the past two months.
“One of my neighbours was raped several months ago, the one directly across the street was robbed twice and so was another at the end of my street last week,” Tower Estates resident, Yvonne Shaw, told the Bahama Journal on Monday.
“And so we have decided to reactivate our neighbourhood watch. To that extent we have planned a meeting for October 17. Two police officers are expected to be there with some helpful tips and paraphernalia to assist us-I would think that the majority of residents in the area would want to be a part of this.”
Police welcome residents taking such an initiative, pointing out that Bahamians are typically not as actively involved in the prevention of crime as they should be.
“We believe that there might be two or three persons in a vehicle, quite possibly a white Sentra,” Superintendent Evans said.
“But I don’t believe that these persons are simply targeting residents of the eastern division as such, but persons who are exiting their vehicles for ATM machines, restaurants or parties and the chances are they are being followed. We believe that.”
There is also the added concern over rapes. Police said a Canadian tourist was raped on the Eastern Road last month.
According to Superintendent Evans, police have already hauled a suspect before the court in connection with one of the recent rape incidents.
Then there are the numerous complaints of vandalism.
Dwight Hart, a resident of Leeward East, knows all too well how it feels to be a victim.
“On Saturday morning when I got up and went downstairs, I saw this big brick lying on my car’s windshield. When I went to the police and filed the complaint, I was told that I was the seventh complaint,” Mr. Hart said.
“On Saturday night, I had a funny feeling that something was going to happen again, so I drove around, but I didn’t see anything. I had only been home about 15 minutes when I heard a loud boom. I peeped out of the window and that’s when I saw this person jumping into what I think was a blue Toyota Tercell, giggling. Apparently, they had tried to throw a rock through a big glass window in the front of my home.”
Mr. Hart added that a similar incident happened to a resident on a nearby street recently.
Police said they believe several youngsters may be behind this disturbing trend.
“From the information we obtained several days ago, it seems as if two men and a female in a blue vehicle are responsible for vandalizing vehicles in this area,” Superintendent Evans said.
“But we don’t believe the aim is to steal anything, just plain vandalism. However, we have put initiatives in place to deal with this as well.”
According to Police Inspector Walter Evans, officers continue to patrol certain areas.
“This is mainly done with the view of minimizing the amount of incidents that could occur,” he said.
“But we must recognize that crime itself is not so much an issue within our community as is the fear of crime and so we are doing everything we can to help eliminate that fear.”
Officials are advising all persons who have reason to believe they are being followed to call the Elizabeth Estates help line at 324-HELP or 324-4357.
“This line is not equipped with caller-ID features so persons calling do not have to feel that they are giving away too much information about themselves. We also will not be asking too many personal questions. We want persons living in the Eastern district to feel comfortable calling in,” Superintendent Evans said.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
