... As residents brace to fight crime

Western Bureau:

As crime and its evil tentacles continue to be a source of grave national concern, residents of Lititz, in St Elizabeth are determined to do whatever it takes to protect the peace-loving image of their village.

"A lot of bad things have been happening around us, but we are determined to protect our community," said 53-year-old Leevern Mills. "The incidents are making us afraid to walk on the street at nights."

According to Mills, the community was recently shaken by the gruesome murder of a melon farmer in a neighbouring community. He also revealed that there had been recent incidents of sexual predators attacking women in that part of the parish.

"Crime is on the rise. Just the other day, a melon farmer was killed," said Mills. "Rapes are taking place too often for us to be comfortable. These criminals must be stopped."

The farming community, which is home to some 3,000 residents, is located in an area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Nain Police Station.

While efforts to reach the sub-officer in charge at the Nain Police Station to get his perspective on the crime situation were unsuccessful, a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there have been incidents of concern in the general area in recent times, but Lititz has not been affected.

"The recent incident (the murder of the farmer) occurred in the Nain police area, but it was not in Lititz," the lawman said. "Lititz is not considered a problem area for us."

However, as the fear of crime continues to be a source of much concern to the residents of Lititz, Bunny Barnes, a farmer, says such a phenomenon is quite new to the area, which is accustomed to peace.

HAVE TO BE CAREFUL

In fact, unlike former times, Barnes says residents no longer move around with impunity at nights hang out on the road or at the bar at odd hours.

"With gun-toting culprits robbing people in nearby districts, we have to be careful here," said Barnes. "We are aware of the danger, but we are not going to surrender our district to hoodlums. We are prepared to fight for it."

According to Barnes, the time has come for stakeholders in the community, including the police, the Church, community groups, schools, and the business sector to come together to ensure that the crime monster does not raise its head in Lititz.

However, according to the police officer at the Nain Police Station, they are confident that through their community-policing approach, they will be able to blunt the advance of the criminals.

"We have faith in our community-policing approach," the lawman said. "We are confident that we will reap the necessary success and see the problematic areas restored to normality."

- M.T.