OVERWHELMING is the word that comes closest in describing the number of phone calls I received commending me on the efforts to sensitise Guyanese on personal security issues. Thank you all. This is the fourth article highlighting various aspects of personal security in general while specifically focusing on returning Guyanese, taxi drivers and now Home Invasion.
By using the term home invasion, I am referring to what we would call ‘kick down the door bandits’, and what the security fraternity would classify in various categories as break and enter or burglary, etc depending on the intensity and outcome of the criminal act. Whatever terminology is used, the culminating effect is usually the same, severe injuries or loss of life, money, jewellery, rape in some instances and psychological trauma. Victims are left with deep, lasting physical and mental scars.
For convenience sake I will attempt to infuse some level of clarity here, least we miss an important point, and since the mind has a way of sticking to what it knows and rejecting what does not seem familiar. Generally, ‘kick down the door’ banditry, as experience has taught us, is mostly a nocturnal activity carried out with five or six heavily armed bandits who can be very mobile. It is a show of force. They are prepared to use disproportionate violence and often times leave death and destruction in their wake. Their modus operandi suggests they are prepared to confront the police if unavoidable, although not a preferred option.
Observation will bring to notice a particular point in this kind of banditry. It raises its head around particular socio-political cycles in Guyana. Whether this has an impact or not, there seems to be a shift from apparent confrontation to ‘snatch-and-disappear’ as I would like to term it. It has evolved. Instead of night attacks, this kind of banditry has meandered into a day time affair which uses the element of surprise to its maximum. I use the term meandered to good effect, since there can be no surety whether this is a short term strategic game tied to motives other than just banditry. Whatever it may be, these attacks seem to be more intelligence driven with the help of insiders which may account for the scale down in the use of violence. The bandits know exactly what they are going for, though they may not know where it is?
This surety is what confounds the victims. The shock of how the bandits are aware of what they have numbs the victims who will comply with little or no persuasive violence. Less time spent persuading victims translates into less time spent on the crime scene and greater escape possibility.
In rural areas, where such acts of criminality are more likely to occur, the ‘home’ quite often is configured to also be a place of varying kinds of business – dry goods or hardware (or whatever store), goldsmith, jeweler, liquor restaurant and bars, etc – which gives the underlying perception of wealth, lucrative financial transactions and the availability of huge sums of money.
What we have to note is, a robbery of the kind being highlighted, does not happen by chance. It is well planned and as we have established, with the help of insiders. For the planning to take place there needs to be information. This is either obtained from an insider or by gathering intelligence and surveillance. Don’t be shocked. Bandits also have their work cut out for them. While they are not fools, they will certainly take the chance once greed overcomes fear, the sum involved can compensate for the risks, the possibility of being caught remains slim and the criminal justice system is weak. There is consensus among Criminologists on these four cardinal points.
At this stage of gathering information, if perceptive and vigilant enough (security conscious) communities and individuals can make a difference in the fight against crime. You will notice strange people or vehicle passing around the area or parked at varying times of the day and night. Notice in the case of the MMZorg robbery, citizens saw and even spoke to the ‘bandits’ dressed as soldiers! If I recall correctly, one citizen was even suspicious of the ‘soldiers.’ but just minded his own business. In the case of the murder of 72-year-old grandma Clementine Parris, persons fitting the description of the murders were seen circling the area for two consecutive days! In plain sight! Yet, we are oblivious to their strange presence. We remember to inform all and sundry only after the criminal act is committed.
At the level of the community, individual awareness and follow up actions are essential at this stage. As was pointed out in the first article, do not assume. Do not be carried away by age or their mode of dress, whether young and scruffy or mature and immaculate. They will come in all races, ages and modes of dress. Do not stereo type. And do not fall for the respectable guy image. This is their method of creating doubts in your mind. When doubts are created, the average person will not act on any issue. Most likely he or she will drop it, especially when it is not of personal interest. That is how the mind works. It is basic psychology which these crooks by their experience have come to understand. I’ll explain another aspect of its usage later on.
Watch the strange individuals. They are always attempting to conceal their faces when you look at them, either turning away from you, wiping their faces with their handkerchief slowly over a long period until you pass or some other action. All this is to ensure, you are unable to identify them in the event they are caught. Follow your gut feelings or intuition. Make it your business to know. Report strange occurrences, vehicles, and people lurking around` etc to the owners of these businesses. Immediately inform the police. Inform the Community Policing Group. Give description of individual/s, vehicle number, colour, made, etc. Do not rely on the vehicle number alone. They use fake number plates. Any information at this stage is crucial to preventing an attack. Remember, prevention is what we are about in the first case.
In preventative security, the experts will tell you of the concept of concentric rights of security. In my considered opinion, once creatively configured, the concentric right concept has a lot to offer against home invasion. But like everything else it comes with a cost, both financial and personal, all depending on the level you can afford, and depending on the scale of your ‘financial interest’. For convenience sake therefore, we should differentiate between a home and a home/business arrangement, and recognise that while the approaches to preventative security may be the same in both cases, the levels employed may or will be different.
Let me make this point graphic. Home/businesses can afford high concrete fencing topped off with razor wires and perimeter security lights, high definition CCTV which can be monitored from the comforts of a bedroom or abroad, alarm systems and sensors, armed responses and armed static security on the ground. The owners themselves are more likely to be licensed firearm holders also.
Generally, such combinations are beyond the financial reach of home owners who may have to contend with a ‘watchman’ or what I call ‘body and not security presence.’  Invariably, these are of an age past retirement, helplessly tossed into the job market by circumstances. They come cheap and offer an illusion of security. Sorry! It is not in my nature to demean anyone. But being sensitive to the feelings of people does not detract from calling a spade a spade! In this particular field, we have to be factual and realistic in the first instance. Sensitivity to feelings and emotions can be your undoing. It is dangerous both for you and your ‘security’.
I will stop here due to space constraints and hope the Editor will bear with me as I continue developing on these ideas in Part Two.