Residents of Forestiere are making plans to form a watch group with the assistance of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), following a series of burglaries over the past couple of months.
Forestiere Development Committee (FDC) Public Relations Officer Kelly Ann Gajadhar told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) that the decision was taken on Wednesday.
Gajadhar said the community has suffered greatly from the recent burglaries, explaining that residents now feels unsafe, after five burglaries occurred in one night.
Having realized that the need for serious intervention, the FDC reached out to the RSLPF for assistance and several officials from various departments within the Force agreed to meet with residents.
The meeting was held on Wednesday, January 7, 2016 at the Forestiere Methodist Combined School with the officers, community members and the development committee.
Two officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) namely, Nile Trim and Eldin Antoine, and one from the Police Complaints Unit, Sergeant Shervon Matthew, were in attendance.
Gajadhar said the meeting was well attended and the parliamentary representative, Guy Joseph, was also in attendance. Residents were given safety tips and they looked at solutions to help curb the situation.
“Sergeant Matthew was the facilitator for the night and he came well prepared to address the issue and also to clarify any questions or information on laws that the community members had,” she said.
After several hours of discussions, it was agreed that a community watch team would be formed.
Sergeant Matthew, she said, agreed to get some further details from successful watch groups and liaise with the development committee, to successfully start the watch group in the coming weeks.
Gajadhar said members of the community expressed satisfaction with this move and the committee looks forward to working closely with RSLPF to help the community become a safer place.
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