Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 14/Sep 09:03

When your home is invaded

DURING the last month, I was a “victim therapist.” Many citizens, through Facebook, phone or personally, while expressing sympathy for the house invasion I experienced on August 14, sadly complained about the crimes they themselves faced at home. Relating their own traumatic experiences, some asked for suggestions to reduce crime in the country. You see, on that morning I found four security cameras at the back of our house twisted upside down, signalling an invader’s intention. The invader did not see a fifth camera. When a security technician checked the cameras, we saw a picture of a white-masked hooded invader at around 10 am walking around the back of the house with a cutlass in his right hand. I attached this picture to my police report, as well as putting the picture, with a short summary of the intrusion, on Facebook, to help alert citizens to what could also happen to them in broad daylight. And so strangers, friends, relatives, even reporters and doctors, expressed concern about me and their own safety too. My wife and I are very grateful. Concerns over this incident should alert the authorities to how very concerned our law-abiding citizens are about crime, so I provide a sample. My friend Gideon Hanoomansingh: “Jesus, you know it’s worse now than then. When will the police get a hold on crime?” Irene Medina: “Sorry to hear of your ordeal, Prof.” Jesse Ramdeo: “Sorry, Prof, hope is all is well.” Azard Ali: “Sorry to hear that Ramesh, thank God u ok.” Mary A Cozier: “Did they (police) call you back to see if you were ok? You know, even as a courtesy.” If they had, and had checked the surroundings, that would have been community policing. Sunita Broomes: “OMG! My dear Professor and next-door neighbour, this has brought back all the physical and mental trauma we faced when four gun-toting youths invaded our home at 10 am on a Monday morning in March of 2023.” She added: “We are living like prisoners in our homes. When will this utter madness stop?” [caption id="attachment_1178140" align="alignnone" width="433"] -[/caption] Businessman Dave Surajdeen: “So, consider this: if a man armed with a cutlass is on your property, what are your options? Your actions to protect yourself and family could only be seen as justified.” Pearl Daniel: “Thank God you all are safe.” Gregory Aboud: “Freedom of movement by perpetrators accommodated by zero movement by law enforcement.” Marc Cassim: “Thank God all turned out ok. Keep safe, Professor Deosaran.” Vinda Ramsingh: “Thank God you all are safe.” Nalini Deyalsingh: “This is so scary. Your privacy has been invaded and the guy is out there roaming.” Usha Maharaj: “Keep safe, Professor. No one is safe out there. These bandits are desperate.” A crime victim warned, “Careful when you opening your gate to enter with your car.” Now, such citizens asking me for suggestions see “no early improvement” in the crime situation. Some say it’s getting worse, blaming “the politicians,” who are “beefing up their own security.” Another complained about the “very low detection rate while criminals running wild.” A few had some hair-raising views about Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander. Look, these kind people are really expressing their own fears too, professing only God can help us now. In fact, just read the newspapers. It is really frightening. Why have crime and public fear grown so dangerously? Who is responsible? Any murder rate over 100 per year in this country is intolerable. Civic-minded use-of-force specialist Jerry Goodridge suggested we organise a seminar on various aspects of the crime problem. One person wanted to know if my MP had called. When I said no, she said, “If it was Mr Deyalsingh, he would call.” A public servant asked: “Did the minister call, since you were (a former) chairman of the Police Service Commission?” Well, I didn’t expect that. I am more interested in detection and arrest. PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar has advised us to install panic alarms. She has one. Look, we started with large signs warning of guard dogs, then locked gate, burglar-proofed doors and windows, then high razor-wired concrete walls. Then, when that failed, expensive security cameras, and when that too didn’t work, we electrified the fence. The wealthy hired private security. Police or private security patrols don’t work, for obvious reasons. Desperation is leading to strengthening citizens’ “stand your ground” defence with guns, knives, etc, against house invaders. So if that too doesn’t work, what else? Landmines and hand-grenade traps? After all, Mr Alexander said it is “a war.”   The post When your home is invaded appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.