RESIDENTS of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, say that recent incidents of break and enter and larceny at their homes are very worrying.Although there is a Police Outpost in the relatively large community, in their view the response from the lawmen is less than satisfactory.

Villagers who work away from their homes for long periods usually return to an empty or ransacked house with valuables missing and that has been the order of the day for some folks.

They said that the break and enter and larceny incidents are committed by a group of unemployed youths, some of whom are addicted to drugs and are residing in the community.

One male resident, who works at nights, suffered two break-ins at his home while he was away and his losses ran into millions.

Another resident said his house was broken into while he was at home and his neighbours responded. The thief was caught breaking a window and he was thrashed and handed over to the police.

Residents said that several young people are unemployed but some are very qualified. They gang up and ‘lime’ at the street corners and get into all sorts of mischief with a lot of time on their hands and nothing worthwhile to do.

Some female residents, who are vendors at the head of the village at a market, said that sometimes people get robbed while on their way home or going to work. In one instance, they recalled, a well-dressed young man snatched the handbag of a woman, early one morning and fled.

The women said that they try to end their business before 18:00hrs daily because when it gets dark the robbers are most likely to strike.
However, many incidents of break-ins have not been reported to the police.

‘D’ Division Commander, Stephen Mansell told this publication that for July this year they received five break and enter and robbery reports in Tuschen and those were investigated.
He stated that they have not had any report of armed robberies in that village for the past four months and detectives are at present doing some work in the area.

Mansell said that Tuschen is outfitted with a Police Outpost that is in operation on a 24-hour basis, manned by four ranks at all times and backed up by two ranks from the Anti-Crime Unit.

The senior officer added that members of the Community Policing Group (CPG) also operate out of the Tuschen Police Outpost.

The commander said for last month on the West Coast Demerara corridor they have had four prosecutions for break and enter and larceny.

He explained that it is only when they receive a report of a crime that they can respond. Therefore, he is urging residents to call-in or visit the police station or outpost to file a report which will be followed-up by the police.

By Michel Outridge