Blatant robberies at Stabroek Market area

Dear Editor,
After numerous concerns have been bombarding the media about the escalation of crime around Stabroek Market and the minibus parks, the presence of uniformed Police in collaboration with the City Constables seems to be a welcome sight to commuters/shoppers around the environs.
On their first day, they seemed effective; however, after that, things seemed to return to normalcy, with everyone complaining of blatant robberies being committed daily. Notably, on the first day of their operations, various suspicious characters could be seen being stopped and searched and many were taken to the outpost. Indeed, the operation is a great relief to many and I had hoped it would have continued, as plain clothes officers were also present.
Whilst the officers are conducting their duties, many persons are hostile towards the officers, especially teenagers who seem to not fear the uniformed authority, using expletives towards the officers. My assumption is that they tell themselves they are being wronged, and their ignorance overcome them. For too long the Stabroek Market and various parks have become a training ground for aspiring criminals and a sturdy plan should be put in place to combat this nonsense. Many people – including conductors, taxi and bus drivers – are of the opinion that the City Constables and Police knows the criminals. I personally see illicit drugs openly being used. More than once, school children in uniform could be seen at the park liming after 22:00h. Whenever a crime or a fight takes place, they are rushing with the crowds, either to assist a crime or commit a crime. I wonder if parents care about their children’s future? Today we are hearing about the number of children dropping out from school and taking part in crime.
Editor, over the years, whenever Parliament is in session, traffic gets congested, causing tremendous traffic build-up all around Georgetown. I see no reason why the environs around Parliament have to be barricaded. It’s understandable that the front of Parliament should be so that the Members of Parliament (MP) have easy access and many of the MPs seem to have no sympathy for the stress commuters go through; they are just concerned about enjoying the perks attached to the position they inherited and seem hell-bent on abusing it.
Some of their vehicles are heavily tinted and even though there is adequate parking space in Parliament and opposite Parliament Building, their vehicles are being parked in all kinds of manner on the road. That wasn’t so prevalent under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. Whenever there’s Parliament, traffic is diverted in all directions and interestingly, motorists are forced to venture into areas that unsafe, but they have no other option.
Heavy-duty vehicles, including container trucks carrying containers are forced to traverse around Demico House which causes tremendous traffic congestion and daily occurrences of accident because of the taxis and buses parked around the area. It’s like a bottleneck with tight turns for the trucks.
Finally, Editor, whenever the traffic becomes congested as a result of Parliament, commuters on Lombard Street are being robbed due to the confusion. The Police are either inept to combat this situation or like what is happening. Many criminals head for Leopold or D’Urban Streets, and there aren’t many exits from Lombard Streets, yet the Police cannot catch these criminals when they commit a crime.
It’s really sad to know that people are being robbed of their hard earned dollars due to the confusion that is created by a few who seems to be drunk most of the time and prefer to enjoy the Good Life in Parliament. When will these issues be address properly? Don’t they have vision or are they just towing the line?
Sahadeo Bates