ear Editor,
I would like to commend the organizers of the first meeting of the Paradise Housing Scheme Neighbour-hood Watch which took place on Sunday March 11, 2012. It is a timely and indeed a necessary initiative in a community that is on the verge of being under siege by criminal elements. Kindly allow me to give an illustration of what I mean. During the first two months of this year there have been several break-ins at dwelling houses across the community. These occurrences did not suddenly happen; this stage of criminality evolved from the days during the previous decade when Enmore Estate workers were the targets of choice for robberies-under- arms along the Foulis-Enterprise stretch of the railway embankment. I can recall publicly cautioning persons who might have witnessed those incidents and chose to remain silent, that it was only a matter of time before the bandits would run out of those targets and focus their efforts elsewhere. I was proven right when persons traversing the Factory Road in Paradise Village to enter the Housing Scheme at night began to bear the brunt of the robbers armed with an assortment of weapons. Around the same time there were reports of rapes being committed along the access road leading from the Bachelors Adventure Public Road to Enterprise; and in the Paradise Housing Scheme there were at least two nighttime home invasions by armed bandits. Editor, the trend of criminality continued with a movement towards early morning robberies of workers and persons going about their lawful business to the stage where people started to walk in groups, and even arranged for a minibus to collect them along the scheme’s main roadway between 05:00-05:15 hours Monday to Friday. During all of these goings on some enterprising miscreants would remove materials from buildings under construction, and accessories from motor vehicles.
Quite recently, several residences have been affected to the point where one resident opted to relocate after suffering losses on two occasions. I know of at least two homes which were invaded during the daytime by a mentally unstable person who is not a resident of the community. Ten daylight break-ins were committed between 4th and 19th streets on residences as follows: Corner houses at the main roadway – 3; houses situated next to corner houses – 2; intermediate houses – 4; and last house in a street – 1. Among the lot were some 6 residences where there were no immediate neighbours, or where house lots are empty, unoccupied, or abandoned. Ironic perhaps is the fact that at least two of the homes are situated next to residences of serving members of the police force making the point that regardless of where you live in the scheme you are vulnerable. In my view the sense of violation experienced by the victim of a home breakage is only surpassed by that felt by rape victims. Anyone who says that s/he would refuse a neighbour’s assistance, or who refuses to give assistance to prevent a neighbour from becoming a victim of crime supports criminal activity.
The inaugural meeting of the Neighbourhood watch was told of the importance of cohesion for enhanced community security, and attendees were advised that – unlike other interventions, all that their participation required was increased surveillance, awareness, and the need to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement.
I think this was captured in the flyer statement that “We respect the uniqueness of each individual while creating and maintaining a cohesion that unifies us as a community”; but just as important is the vision of “Sustainable improvements of our safety depend on community responsibility. Crime is of concern to all of us, and we work continuously towards making the community as a whole a safer place.”
I wish to offer my congratulations to the organisers of the Paradise Neighbourhood Watch for a focused and well-conducted meeting, and my commitment and support to all efforts aimed at reducing crime and an improved quality of life for our community.
Yours faithfully
Patrick E. Mentore
