COMMANDER of Police ‘B’ Division, Ian Amsterdam, has said that contrary to what people are saying, crime is not out of control in Berbice. He said he is certain that armed robbery has spiked in the last two weeks, but even that seems to be on the decline, as ‘B’ Division has been unusually quiet in the last five days.Amsterdam was careful in explaining that some new strategies have been implemented and will remain in place until the situation returns to normal. He said that mobile patrol has been intensified in the division, and police visibility will be even more pronounced as “we’re returning to a posture where we are having foot patrols from as far as Corriverton and all the townships, including Rosignol, where they anticipate visitors will be for Jubilee celebrations.”

Amsterdam said police are prepared to police all areas where events would be held during Jubilee Celebrations in the Ancient County; and far as he knows, the police are “on top of situation.”

Conceding that the Corentyne Corridor has always presented the police with their greatest problems, Amsterdam said that apart from putting new systems in place, the police have upped their intelligence-gathering capabilities in that area as well.

Patrols, he said, are being manned by a senior rank and an officer, and have the authority and capability to erect snap road blocks and conduct raids and searches.

In hotspots such as Rose Hall Town, Port Mourant, Tain, and the Upper Corentyne areas, patrols are being done by foot.

“Apart from those trouble areas,” he said, “the region has been quiet, and April has been our best month, where we had our lowest serious crimes.

Between April 3 and April 25, 2016, there has been only one incident of robbery-under-arms involving the use of a gun, he explained. Between April 25 and May 1, the division recorded four other robberies in which guns were used, and one person was shot in the process.

“However, (police) know who the perpetrators are, but they have not been arrested (as) yet. (Police) hope to make arrests shortly,” he disclosed.

He said that of the 15 murders committed so far for the year, eight have already been solved and an additional two are about to be cracked. He pointed out that it was noted that crime has been decreasing since April.

He said that the police, at this time, have enough ranks on the ground; have deployed 10 other ranks to different areas; and will pull ranks from stations for patrol purposes.

All Jubilee Celebration spots will be policed, he promised.