Activities and events occurring on and off the coast of Chaguaramas will now be strictly supervised via closed circuit surveillance television in order to protect investors, visitors and tenants, as well as the prosperity of the area.
This was stressed by Daniel Solomon, chairman of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA), who spoke at yesterday's inaugural tour of CDA's new police headquarters, located on Bachelor Hall Road, off Tucker Valley Road.
The $1,479,036 refurbished headquarters includes a surveillance room for detecting suspicious and illegal activities on streets, trails and open spaces via closed circuit television (CCTV) video streams.
According to Solomon, between 18,000 and 25,000 people visit the recently launched Chaguaramas boardwalk facilities every weekend and every effort was being made by the CDA to ensure visitors' safety.
"Over the last two years, the CDA has boosted its security manpower to include the enhancement of its security fleet, the forging of strategic alliances and the adoption of intelligence-led policing strategies," he said.
The headquarters consists of an administrative building (7,315 sq ft), 10 spaces for public parking and 25 spaces for officers' parking. The administrative building includes a surveillance room equipped with modern surveillance equipment to facilitate real-time response to incidents on the peninsula and offshore islands.
In his feature address, Minister of Planning Dr Bhoe Tewarie outlined some of the other features of the new-look unit.
The building includes accommodation for estate police officers and civilian office personnel; a modern meeting room for briefing, training and workshops; separate dormitories for male and female officers; a laundry area and other rooms.
He said surveillance would provide for real-time, visual information during special events; the identification of suspicious-looking, wanted and stolen vehicles; and liaison with other law enforcement personnel.
Tewarie said the Government's vision was to establish the Chaguaramas peninsula as a national park.
"This police post highlights the fact that the safety and security of all tenants and visitors continue to hold top priority for the CDA, especially as it continues to be driven to attract investors at the highest level from all over the globe to lend to the development and evolution of the peninsula to a premier destination for recreation, sports, relaxation and entrepreneurship opportunities for everyone," the minister said.