— Police ‘B’ Division Commander

NOTWITHSTANDING the reduction in criminal activity in East Canje following the gunning down of notorious criminal Deodat Seecharran alias “Popcorn,” earlier this year, one serious crime is committed daily in Berbice.

This is according to Police ‘B’ Division Commander, Brian Joseph.

In a document containing comparative figures of serious crimes, issued to members of the Berbice media during a press briefing with Berbice’s top police administrators, it was recorded that at the end of July 2014, a murder occurred every 18 days, while break and enter and larceny offences occurred each alternative day.
However, it must be noted that although the police did not record the kidnapping of the nine-day- old baby boy, which was taken from his mother Sandra Mc Lean on May 24 in its analysis, one such incident had occurred resulting in the alleged child abductor Bibi Hussain, called “Debbie,” being charged with abduction. She was granted $300,000 bail following a successful petition before Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Berbice High Court.,
It must be noted that there has been an overall 13 percent decrease in serious crimes when compared to the same period of 2013. However there has been an increase in robberies, which included robbery under arms, and robbery with aggravation.
Amongst the crimes on the decline in the Ancient County are rape, burglary, larceny from the person, and robbery with violence.
However, commenting on the statistics, the assistant commissioner declined to reveal the new strategies implemented by ranks to combat crime, but noted that the strategies have been successful,as manifested by the decrease in serious offences in the division .
“The decrease in crime is the fruit of collaborative police work from the Criminal Investigation Department along with the gathering of intelligence, and support from the general public,” he revealed. “We get a lot of information from the members of the public, and this is as a result of the several community outreaches which we have held in the division over the past months.”
With reference to the Number Two Sub-Division which runs from Whim Village on the Corentyne Coast to Orealla, Corentyne River, Joseph noted that the area was not being neglected , even as he recalled protest action by some who opined that the police had been unable to adequately protect and serve their community.
“We have concentrated most of our resources in that area…the area was never neglected .It is not that we have neglected other areas. We are working with the resources that are disposable to us,” Joseph asserted.
He noted that a previously troubled area was East Canje, which almost vanished to crime, but following the dismantling of criminal networks and the killing of Deodat Seecharran called “Popcorn,” crime has significantly reduced in that community.
Furthermore, ‘B’ Division Crime Chief Assistant Superintendent of Police Terrace Paul , interjecting , noted that many of those who have been involved in criminal activity were from East Canje communities.
Explaining, he said that shortly after the death of Seecharran, two other known criminals were shot in their buttocks during a surprise attack in December 2012 , resulting in a plunge in the serious- crime figures.
“After then, we were not getting any robberies at all,” he boasted.