Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith has ordered increased night-time patrols as well as covert and overt operations to stop a recent spike in breakings and larceny against businesses in the capital city of Port-of-Spain.
The commissioner revealed there would be an immediate start to heightened security measures when he met with the Port-of-Spain Mayor and President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants’ Association, Gregory Aboud yesterday.
Senior officers of the Port-of-Spain Division also attended the virtual talks.
According to the police service, Commissioner Griffith said among the measures he intends to implement immediately, are the use of Emergency Response Patrols for night-time surveillance of the capital, sustained anti-crime operations and intelligence-driven investigations to ascertain the levels of organisation within the criminal elements.
He also suggested to DOMA the possibility of linking storefront security cameras to the Operational Command Centre for continuous monitoring, early detection of criminal behaviour and rapid response to threats.
The meeting came after DOMA expressed concern about the number of breakings as well as the new level of organisation and sophistication in the crimes.
Only on Wednesday night, three male suspects who broke into a supermarket on George Street were caught inside the establishment by officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force.