ASSISTANT POLICE COMMISSIONER A CRIME VICTIM

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), with responsibility for crime, Lenroy Brewster is pleased with the general outcome of the Carnival festivities as it relates to criminal activities. In fact, the main concern for the police during the season was incidents of pick-pocketing.{{more}}

Brewster himself was the victim of a bold pick-pocketing last Saturday, July 8, while attending the Soca Monarch Show with his wife. Brewster’s social outing was rudely interrupted when while on his way back from the washroom he was stopped in his tracks by a thick crowd. He told SEARCHLIGHT that he felt an elbow jamming him and for about 20 seconds he could not move from where he was standing.

He further explained that he didn’t aggressively push his way out as he did not want to give any impression of impatience or over aggression on his part because of who he is. When he, however, decided that his movement had been impeded long enough, he pushed through, at which point the experienced police officer said that he felt a hand leave his pocket. He turned around immediately. Brewster said that he then engaged in what turned out to be a futile search for his robber. The senior officer lost his wallet containing $340.

While seeing the funny side of his incident, Brewster told SEARCHLIGHT that similar incidents occurred throughout the festivities adding that many incidents were not officially reported because the victims appreciated the difficulty in retrieving any of their lost items. Among the things stolen were cell phones, watches and money. Brewster likened the carnival pick pocketers to American master magicians David Blain and Chris Angel.”There were a few incidents of wounding but none involving bottles,” stated Brewster as he acclaimed the ‘no bottle policy’ a huge success. He suggested that a few persons were able to slip through the police dragnet with small knives and so on, but there was an obvious huge reduction in crime around the Carnival season. “I am satisfied with the work that was done by the police.”

Meanwhile two Guyanese men appeared in the Magistrate’s court on Wednesday, July 12, charged with unlawful possession of over $8000 each. The men, Fitzroy Holligan, 32, and Osafa Grundall, 27, both pleaded not guilty to those charges. In a unique twist, ACP Brewster also identified one of the men, Holligan as the one who robbed him and a charge of theft was laid on him to which he also pleaded not guilty.