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Zeelugt residents told the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday that the police seldom visit or patrol the area, and the community policing (CPG) officers living in the area themselves fail to patrol the area.
One resident said he is unsure whether a similar situation obtains in other villages along the coast, but whenever the police are called to investigate certain matters, they never come to the community.
He said an influx of young people from within and outside of the community is plaguing the community with their gambling habits, and there is rampant noise nuisance; whilst underage children are often seen behind the wheels of motor vehicles.
The man said that whenever these cases present themselves, the police are informed, and the usual response residents receive is that the police would be in the area soon, or that there is no vehicle.
Another resident explained that whenever the young people in the area engage in their gambling sessions, fights and disagreements usually ensue, and these could one day become deadly; but the police are never able to enter a presence when reports are made in this respect.
A woman said another problem being experienced is that of community teenagers smoking illegal substances, often encouraged by other teenagers who come in from other villages.
The police at Leonora, on the West Coast of Demerara, have also been informed of this development, but have taken no action against it, according to the woman. She said that when the young men smoke and become intoxicated on whatever, they then molest persons in the area, especially the young girls who have to traverse the areas where the young men choose to congregate.
The teenagers smoke, drink and gamble openly, with no fear of being caught in the act, and that is what is becoming increasing worrying, a resident told this publication.
Another issue plaguing the Zeelugt community is the issue of domestic violence, specifically the abuse of women and children.
One elderly woman expressed disgust at having to endure the many screams and shouts of women and children who are often abused by the male figures in their homes.
Residents pointed to the most recent tragedy to have visited the community, wherein two children were chopped to death and their mother seriously injured by her reputed husband. They said the man constantly abused his reputed wife and children, but calls made to the police in respect to the matter never brought the police to the community.
This newspaper was informed that on Monday prior to the chopping incident, the mother of the abused woman went to the police station to make a report against her reputed son-in-law and the abuse her daughter and her children were being made to endure.
With this latest incident, residents are again calling on the GPF and all other authorities to investigate the situation affecting Zeelugt, and act swiftly in addressing them.
