Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
SOUTH REWARD--About thirty concerned residents of Waymouth Hill and South Reward gathered Thursday evening for a meeting with Police Force representatives concerning a serious and escalating string of break-ins in the area.
Some of the residents, discontented and having lost some faith that a solution was being found, say they would have been very disappointed had it simply been a "lock your windows and doors" type of meeting. However, they said they found it informative, and found the police representatives to be "open, frank and candid," as put by one resident.
"They didn't make excuses," and came across as approachable. They were also open to criticism of instances where police had not handled cases properly: one person said that officers did not collect any fingerprint or obvious DNA evidence left although she had insisted, while another called as they saw a thief only to hear the phone ring out. Another person called and described basically being hung up on by a police officer who disregarded it after hearing the name of the area.
Representatives at the meeting were said to be upset to hear of the instances, calling it "unacceptable" and saying that there are ramifications for such actions. They encouraged the public to always ask the name of officers when dealing with them, writing it down if necessary.
The area has seen a sharp spike in burglaries, from 35 over the whole of 2014, to already 28 in the first three months of this year. In fact, on the same evening of the meeting someone just outside the area was clubbed in the head.
Aside from the rise in break-ins, armed burglars have invaded three or four homes this year with residents inside, having groped one. One father was urgently called home recently by his teenage daughter to find her with a gun pointed at her after the thieves forced their way in. The police representatives asked about their wellbeing during the meeting.
They encouraged the community to have open lines of communication, and pointed out that the secluded areas and good visibility that the area is prized for, also works to the advantage of thieves.
They also shared safety tips and some progress concerning the cases. They included a PowerPoint presentation and gathered updates from attendees.
The community asked what they can do to help, and one pointer was that speaking to neighbours and volunteering video footage speeds along the process significantly, rather than police having to go through procedures of collecting footage from others, even before approaching them.
