Guards urged to join theft fight

Private security officers are being urged to help law enforcement officials fight crime, such as cracking down on the number of stolen vehicles.

Chairman of the Barbados chapter of the Caribbean Association of Security Professionals (CASP), Oral Reid,  today revealed that theft of vehicles had become a headache for police.

He made the comments while addressing CASP’s second professional development training seminar for the year. The seminar, on Effectiveness and Efficiency in Safety and Security Practice, was held at the Cave Hill School of Business at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill campus this morning.

Reid told participants that over the course of the last five years there had been a steady increase in the number of stolen vehicles reported.

The retired senior police officer, who is also the UWI’s head of security, said he believed that private security professionals were in a good position to assist law enforcement with their investigations.

Reid said: “I believe that the time is fast approaching when private security officers and especially persons at the senior level of organziations need to engage on how we can make a contribution nationally to problems such as the theft of vehicles.

“I believe that the crime statistics of Barbados over the last five years would show that we have had a gradual and steady increase in the number of cases of theft of vehicles and from vehicles in Barbados.

“This is not only so in Barbados, it is across the Caribbean if you look at the statistics, but in Barbados it is an under-reported fact that we have a number of vehicles that are stolen annually, but who is discussing it and what can we do about it?”

Reid said theft does not only relate to vehicles, but also significantly affects small and large farmers who are losing their crops.

“So I want to see persons involved at the macro level of security engage in discussions on these topics,” Reid declared.

Stressing that private security guards had a role to play in fighting illicit trade he added: “I wonder what is the role that can be played by private security in identifying some of those factors which could help private security to support national security and police officers in directing information in respect of that.

“I wonder also what role the private security could play in terms of human trafficking.

“We work at clubs ar various places and we hear things just like anybody else and if there are 5,000 plus private security on the ground and only 880 state police it tells me we should be hearing and seeing things and should be in a position to channel information to the place where action can be taken.”