On the beat in St George’s
St George’s may not have a fully functioning police station, but the St George’s Community Action Team (CAT) believe they are preventing crime.Earlier this week, the team took The Royal Gazette around the old town, highlighting the work that has been done by working with the community.Sgt Andrew Exell said that generally there are no less than four officers and a supervisor on duty in the East End at any time, covering everywhere from Flatts to Fort St Catherine’s, and that through proactive policing they are able to keep issues under control.“When social issues pop up we try to deal with them right away,” Sgt Exell said. “We haven’t been experiencing too many problems. When we do have issues we work with the community and get it dealt with expeditiously.“Obviously everyone gets up in arms, and rightfully so, about violence, gun violence and gang-related incidents and we’re not immune to it in St George’s. If there is anything that pops up, we will deal with it. Robustly deal with it.“Although we can say that it’s bad, we can see through statistics that crime has actually decreased within the last 18 months, two years.”Regarding the town itself, he said that there is a police presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week.PC Simon Joseph, who has worked in St George’s for six years and has served in the CAT for the last two and a half years, said he has seen some places viewed as problem areas cleaned up through hard work.The area west of the town around Cousins Variety, he said, is one such area.“The fear of crime there was very high,” he said. “What happened was people were selling drugs, loitering around, urinating and littering. People were hanging around in the trees.“We were concerned about some stuff there, that something was going to happen and there was going to be retaliation, so we had to get that area clean.”He explained that the team worked with the community and the nearby businesses, and worked to answer their concerns by having trees in the area cut back to improve visibility and putting up “no loitering” signs“Now if you pass through the area, it’s pretty quiet,” PC Joseph said.PC Ricky Ramnarine said that when the St George’s CAT team was first established, they received numerous complaints about a group of young people hanging out at the intersection of York Street and Kent Street.“When the CAT first came here, there were a number of young guys, and they were congregating here on the corner,” PC Ramnarine said. “We decided that we would talk to them, telling them that they don’t have to stay on the street corner and hang out, that there are other positive things.“That constant engagement actually got them out of here. They are still in the town, but we don’t have that problem any more. The complaints have vanished.”PC Litanya Smith, the dedicated town constable, said that now the only problem at the intersection is traffic, with a large number of drivers failing to stop at the intersection.While the officers agreed that proactive policing was preventing crime in the town, when crimes do take place PC Ramnarine said CCTV coverage in the town was helping officers nab the suspects.“They have been fully functional for about two years now,” he said. “There are about six or seven cameras in the town now, and they have been helping police solve the antisocial offences.“People complain, we look at the camera, we target them. At the car park there were several reports of vandalism, but there is now a CCTV camera there. That assisted us in solving most of those incidents.“We work together to deal with matters in the town, even though we do not have a fully functioning police station. We do try to give a strong presence in the town, especially when there are more tourists and people around.”Mayor Kenneth Bascome recently said he will push for a fully functional police station in the town, but PC Ramnarine said Southside is only a short distance away in St David’s.And while the constable said he was confident nothing would happen to the bridge, if something did happen to the bridge, officers could easily reach the island by boat.Sgt Estwick agreed, recalling what happened after Hurricane Fabian extensively damaged the Causeway.“All of us have worked down here during that time,” Sgt Estwick said. “It was a trying period for all of us, but the fact of the matter is you would still have these numbers.“The supervisor on duty would ensure that there is sufficient manpower on this side to make sure we can serve St George’s appropriately.”Ch Insp Hashim Estwick stated that the St George’s Police Station is open 24 hours a day — when staff are available.“Things do change depending on the level of staff that is available, so sometimes it’s closed, but when it’s closed there is a phone here which directly patches in to Southside Police Station, and officers will come as quickly as possible.“Most of the police officers that respond are on the streets and we have specific units that deal with St George’s, so most likely there will be a car or a bike close by that can respond.“The speed of the response depends on the availability of resources, and also the level of call. If it’s a critical incident, obviously we will blast in with officers from central and other areas.”He said he has been working in the east end for around a year and a half, describing the town as a wonderful place to work.“We have a very close-knit community. We have a Mayor who has been very supportive and he continues to be very supportive, and we work together to deal with issues of antisocial behaviour and crime in this particular area to make sure that it’s a peaceful environment for all, the visitors and the locals, to feel safe.”
For PC Litanya Smith, building a better relationship with the residents of St George is the key to keeping the town safe.
PC Smith was recently rolled out as a dedicated police officer for the town. Since then, she has spent hours walking the streets, speaking with the public and working to keep the town moving.
During a recent walk through the town, PC Smith pointed out the house where she used to stay as a child, overlooking the town.
“I come from the east,” she said. “I practically stayed in St George’s when I was younger. I grew up in Hamilton Parish, but I spent my summers here in St George’s.
“It feels good to be giving back to the community. I never stopped.”
On an average day, she said she spends around five to six hours walking through the town, visiting problem areas and listening to people’s concerns.
“It’s good. You get out there and you build that relationship with the people, and when you build the relationship with the people it’s easier to get advantages and your information,” she said. “Also, they feel more comfortable coming to you when they have different issues and problems that they need help with.
“Once we have that relationship up and growing, it helps us to solve crime and to detect it and prevent it.”
“I think that the residents are happy to see police. The team are assigned to different parishes and schools so they are not always around, so they are happy to see someone and to have a go-between.”
During her time in St George’s, she said she has gotten to know the town’s “characters,” for better or worse.
“One issue is what I call my libation crew, who like to indulge all day,” she said.
“They pretty much respect us because we have built that relationship, so we really don’t get a whole lot of fuss from them. You always get that one person who just shouldn’t drink.”
So far this year, PC Smith said that the number of visitors coming to the town seems to be on the increase, even without a regular cruise ship. She said she was happy to see the town getting busier and having more opportunities to speak with tourists, but noted that visitors can sometimes provide unique challenges.
“It’s a matter of people, wherever you go, not knowing the laws. Apparently someone on their yacht took their top off, not knowing what you can and can’t do,” she said.
“They were European and apparently used to being naked. I think that even though we are a British colony, we don’t come across as stiff, so they think they can lay back a bit. We do have to enforce those things as well.”
