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  • 1 year ago
While political opponents of the Government and others were critical of the police road blocks, the Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of Operations said they served a very important purpose as he thanked those who have shown patience.

This, as the National Security Minister says the government cannot follow the path of one South American country's war on gangs.

The Minster says that is because "it is outrageous in the context of the very stable democratic, civilised operation" in this country.

Juhel Browne reports.

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Transcript
00:00We are confident that, again, slowly but surely, we would see a turnaround in the crime situation
00:06as we seek to make that in-your-face policing something that at least the criminals must
00:12know that the police is here and that we are here to bring back law and order in the land.
00:17The Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, Junior Benjamin, speaking on
00:21Monday after a series of roadblock exercises were carried out by the police last week in
00:26keeping with the recent intensification of the war on gangs declared by Police Commissioner
00:32Lula Hayward-Christopher.
00:33DCP Benjamin addressed a media conference chaired by National Security Minister Fitzgerald
00:39Hines.
00:40For the period the 14th of July to the 21st of July, we have had at least 569 exercises.
00:52We had at least 263 persons arrested, 15 firearms were seized.
01:00Of these 15, at least three of them are what is known as AR-15s or automatic rifles.
01:10DCP Benjamin said 604 rounds of ammunition were also seized in addition to other illicit
01:17items.
01:18TV6 News posed the question about that in the context of the kind of large seizure of
01:23guns and ammunition carried out by the police last year.
01:28Is that something that we could as a society look forward to seeing more of apart from
01:34what the numbers that you would have announced in the roadblocks, larger seizures of illegal
01:40guns and ammunition?
01:43We would love to see that.
01:44We would certainly love to see that.
01:45However, we continue working with the intelligence that we have and we allow the intelligence
01:52to guide our operations.
01:54So we are not going to be emotional, we are not going to be moved by what people are saying.
01:59We are going to allow the data to speak to us.
02:02National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hines said the recent increase in police activity
02:07is occurring in tandem with the increased assistance of the Defence Force and the recent
02:12searches in the prisons carried out by the Prison Service.
02:17Persons within recent weeks have directed my attention, months actually, directed my
02:22attention to what is happening in the state of El Salvador for an example, where the President,
02:28I think Borselli is his name, built a properly designed prison facility.
02:35And it is said, I don't know on the ground, but it is said that the only crime you have
02:41to commit to find yourself in there is a suggestion by a neighbour, a suggestion by
02:47law enforcement or the army that you have committed some crime or you probably is a
02:53member of a gang and you have the appropriate tattoos and so on.
02:57And that can get you put in there for the rest of time.
03:01The BBC reported the popularity of the President of El Salvador has soared following a crackdown
03:06on crime there, which drove down the South American's level of murders, but he has also
03:13faced serious criticisms of human rights abuses.
03:18That is anathema to our democratic traditions and matters like that, as I say, could be
03:23quite outrageous.
03:24However appealing it may seem to him and no doubt others, it is outrageous in the context
03:31of the very stable, democratic, civilized operation that we do here.
03:37So when I'm told that we must do something, I give the assurance that we do.
03:42As for those critical of his performance as National Security Minister and whether he
03:46should step down from the job, Mr. Hinds has said the public is free to have their opinions.
03:52Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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