Sometimes police let go the “small fish” in order to get the “bigger fish”

Good policing involves cultivating relationships with not only law-abiding citizens, but persons that operate in the criminal underworld, also known as criminal informants (CI).

And sometimes these CIs are let go by police when they commit petty crimes as they provide information that help to solve bigger crimes.

“…there are times when you have to give up the smaller fish to get the bigger ones,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) with responsibility for fighting crime in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trevor “Buju” Bailey said on Monday August 12, 2024 on “Voices”, a radio programme aired on WE FM.

Bailey, one of the nation’s top crime fighters is known for solving homicides including, two notable double murders.

He said coming through the ranks as a police officer, he had a knack for solving offences of burglary and robbery.

“…once you committed a robbery in and around Kingstown and you stole property…you [were] going to sell it, and I was blessed with some good contacts on the streets of Kingstown…so once it pass through the streets of Kingstown, you [were] going to get lock up because someone was going tell Buju,” the ACP boasted, while adding that he solved crimes when he worked solely as an investigator by using a combination of institutional knowledge and contacts on the streets.

“As a detective you have to learn to cultivate your own informants on the street of Kingstown and not only Kingstown….You have to give to get, so sometimes you may overlook the theft of six mangoes for two burglaries and say ‘we will give you a bye with the mangoes and take the two burglaries’….”

Bailey noted that when he worked as an investigator in and around Kingstown, he and some other colleagues officers, including retired police officer Sydney James, commanded a certain level of respect among some petty criminals, as they were given chances sometimes and were rewarded with worthwhile information.

“So, they on the street, they respected us for that because we were not like scavengers, we were not taking everything.

“Sometimes as a detective, you have to weigh if to lock up a man for six breadfruit and you could get information from him that will solve a robbery and when I look at the two offences, a robbery that carries life, a robbery where the person may have used force and inflicted injuries… Yes, somebody may have lost their six breadfruits and their breadfruit to them is equally as valuable to that person who may have lost 500 dollars and sustained injuries…but if you weight both evils you take the greater of these evils because in the jungle, the dominant will always overpower the weak…,” ACP Bailey said.

He noted that investigators must however strike a balance.

“…sometimes you say ‘you’re overdoing it, so you need a rest, take a break’ because you watching what they do themselves on the outside, they taking their money and smoke drugs and breaking down too bad…”.