-42 persons nabbed so far
Constabulary Officers to be deployed in plain clothes
THE City Constabulary Department of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has devised a new plan to rid the city of its litter bugs, mandating some of its officers in plain clothes to arrest persons caught in the act.
This was relayed to reporters by the Deputy Chief Constable, Mr. Trevor Merriman, at his office yesterday.
The Constabulary Officers will be working at strategic locations, including Regent, Water and King Streets, as well as at Stabroek and Cuffy Squares. Those caught littering will be arrested and placed before the court and subsequently be made to pay a fine of $7,500.
Since the exercise began last October 5, Merriman reported that a total of 42 persons have been picked up, with 20 who have already paid their fines in court. The other 22 will be made to face the court sometime between this Friday and Tuesday.
Merriman lauded the “no nonsense” work by Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond, in view of the increased cases her court must now deal with.
The littering initiative by the Constabulary Department is intended to go as “long as possible” and until there is a change in attitude by citizens with regards to littering.
According to Merriman, the Council has found that many persons being caught littering are working for businesses in the city and are mandated by the owners to illegally dump their garbage.
He appealed to business owners to use the system that the Council has in place as their will be “no excuses; no pardons.” He disclosed that there will be a special arrangement in place for those business owners who feel they could dump garbage in the nights.
Additionally, Merriman revealed that drink carts and other structures were expected to be removed by officers from last night.
He said the Council “is still hoping that one day” authorities will see the need for the Council to have its own municipal court so that the magistrate’s court does not have to be burdened with littering cases.
Littering has long been an issue for the City Council and has been described by officials some years ago as the single most challenging issue that has been plaguing the municipality.