Police put a dent in spate of burglaries – ACP Bailey

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) with responsibility for crime fighting, Trevor ‘Buju’ Bailey said the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), have put a dent in the spate of burglaries occurring across the country.

From as far back as January, increased reports of burglaries in Windward communities including Cedars, North Union, and Biabou, have been circulating on social media and elsewhere. Communities on the outskirts of Kingstown have also had confirmed burglaries with video footage showing robberies in homes in Cane Garden.

“Almost every week you were hearing that there is a series of burglaries happening in certain geographical areas in St Vincent and the Grenadines. It was said that it appeared as though they were throwing a substance causing people to fall into a deep sleep.”

ACP Bailey who was at the time speaking on NBC Radio’s ‘Talk Yuh Talk’ programme, was referring to the concerning trend uncovered during a SEARCHLIGHT investigation back in February where residents revealed symptoms of possibly being gassed when their homes were burglarized. Residents revealed that on waking they felt nauseated, confused, and lethargic and later discovered that valuables from inside the home were missing.

He said residents in the affected areas provided significant assistance to investigators and, as a result, arrests were made.

“The response from the public has been tremendous with regards to information helpful to the police. We have made a few arrests. Last weekend we made more arrests for burglaries in the Carapan/Stubbs area.”

In late March, a Chauncey man was taken to court charged with burglarizing a home at Cedars and being in possession of stolen goods. He was denied bail after the court Prosecutor, Corlene Samuel, objected on grounds of the increased number of burglaries occurring in the south central police division.

Shortly thereafter, the police released a notice for a suspect who was wanted in connection with burglaries in Cane Garden. Just one day after posting the wanted notice, the suspect was shot by police in Kingstown while being apprehended. Arrests for burglaries in Edinboro were also made within the last week.

ACP Bailey admitted that more work needs to be done by the police in responding to reports of burglaries.

“Once a citizen calls the police station and reports that something strange is happening, or they see a strange person in the district, the police must respond. It makes no sense that we get the information and do not act then after we hear that there are two, three burglaries in the neighbourhood.”

The officer said that the response to reports of crimes is an “internal issue that we are working tremendously on”, also noting that the new fleet of vehicles the RSVGPF has received should help to address the issue.

“We have heard the complaints that callers have made.”