Stop and search initiative bearing fruit, public asked to ‘bear with police

The police, in an effort to close all the gaps that criminals have in which to manoeuvre, have initiated regular stop and search exercises throughout mainland St Vincent.

But while persons had been calling on the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) to clamp down on criminal activity, particularly gun crimes, the stop and search activities have been rubbing some persons the wrong way.

One such individual said that on July 30 he was stopped twice in the Arnos Vale roundabout area on the same day, once heading out of Kingstown and shortly after heading back into Kingstown.

“They had just searched me when leaving the roundabout and once again when I was coming back…it made me feel like a criminal and the question I was asked was ‘What am I doing on the road so often and so late’, after nine o’clock, minutes to 10.

“It made me feel like a criminal although the police were polite for the most part. They however did not say what they are searching for,” the young professional said.

Reports are also that sometimes a person is searched on the Windward side of island and then again on the Leeward side, all in the same day, frustrating some motorists.

But according to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Christopher Benjamin, the vehicular stop and search initiative is bearing fruit and he is asking the public to bear with the police as they go about with this crime fighting initiative.

“It is very effective. We started this before the July 19 mass shooting despite what persons may think but we did some adjustment to the timing and so on after that.

“We let it grow as part of everyday operations,” ACP Benjamin said while declining to discuss the number of officers involved in the ongoing initiative.

He said searches are conducted by officers at their own discretion and several illegal items from ski-masks to weapons have been confiscated by the police.

ACP Benjamin said that sometime in the near future, the police might put on display items discovered during stop and search operations and also stressed that the police have been taking guns off the streets.

“Doing these stops has become a part of us now. We don’t want to do this because something happened, we want to adopt the initiative and let it be natural.

“We don’t want anybody saying of the police that we only pulling up people when something happen and running an operation because of what happen, because if we stop when things quiet down, things will start up again. We are letting things flow naturally,” Benjamin said.

The Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) hiked their crime fighting initiatives to a new level which included the stop and search operation after the mass shooting on Wednesday July 19 that claimed the lives of Lamont ‘Dutchie’ Hector of Paul’s Avenue, Dondre Rickardo Hillocks of Long Wall and Belmont, Jamal ‘Dutty’ Bobb of Ottley Hall, Rickie Taylor of Long Wall; and Kashie Primus of Rockies.

The men were gunned down while liming in the Harbour Club area of Bay Street, Kingstown.

Following the shooting, the RSVGPF said they were directing their resources towards ensuring that the country’s murder rate does not exceed the current 35.

It was also noted that all branches of law enforcement including border patrol, remain on high alert.