The police, as part of its crime fighting initiative, have announced plans to intensify their presence in a number of hotspot communities.  However, for some residents, this is a process that is taking too long to come to fruition.

Pushed on edge as a result of the frequent murders and violent drive-by shootings, residents in communities such as Waterhouse, Drews Avenue and Allman Town in the Corporate Area, say they are living in fear. Over the last two weeks, more than 15 persons have been killed in the above areas, police data has shown.

In sections of Drews Avenue and Waterhouse, large boulders, old furniture and debris have become permanent fixtures in the streets.  This, the residents claim, is not only an indication of the lack of police monitoring their area, but also evidence of what they were forced to do to protect themselves from frequent drive-by attacks. 

The local authorities say they have been working around the clock to bring the situation under control, but according to the residents, the criminals are out of control. 

They lurk and hide when the police is in our community, but as soon as the authorities leave, they (criminals) come down on us.  Sometime they use the cover of darkness, on other occasions they use other means, one resident from Drews Avenue said. 

Over in sections of the Allman Town, where there is still a tense calm, the residents say the wanton disregard for life or authority by criminals is ever present.

They claim that a display of this was seen in the community three weeks ago, when just minutes after the police left the area, criminals went to the same location where they had murdered two persons the day before, to kill a woman.

National Security Minister, Col. Trevor MacMillan, recently said the security forces are looking at ways to curtail violent crimes and part of this move was to introduce a number of measures to address the problem.  Some of the measures are:

Intensification of efforts to dismantle criminal networks;
The strategic deployment of law enforcement personnel into communities that have been under attack from criminals;
Renewed focus on hotspots policing, and increased co-operation between the police, the military and citizens, to promote the free-flow and confidential exchange of information.