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Is Police HQ Playing Favourites With Northside?
posted (September 28, 2016)

And while ACP Williams can’t really speak for the investigators – it’s because they have their own bosses to answer to in their formation.  Back in Chester’s formation, which is the Southside, they’re more or less on their own.  The prosecution and tourism police unit answer to the northside commander, which also has the majority of vehicular resources.  That’s why we listened with interest in July when the former police minister John Saldivar said that more resources would be placed in the southside – which is the country’s largest crime hotspot.  And the Prime Minister also saw the need when he earmarked two vehicles for the southside. Today we asked if those have come through yet – and we were surprised at the response:…

Jules Vasquez
"You have recently been boasting that the prime minister would give the south a pair of wingles. Have you all received those vehicles yet, we are talking about patrols; do you all have that additional mobility that you've crying out for?"

ACP Chester Williams - Regional Commander, Eastern Division South
"Well yes the prime minister had promised us 2 vehicles and I must say that yesterday we received the 2 vehicles and I must give special thanks to the prime minister despite the economic challenge we are going through he saw it fit to provide us with 2 vehicles but of the 2 vehicles only 1 has been assigned to Southside and the other was assigned to north side."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir but north side as we know has statistically and geographically far less of a population, far less gang areas and far less crime and if I'm not mistaken north side already has the added benefit of the TPU the Tourism Police Unit which though geographically on the Southside answers to north side and the prosecution branch. So they have more resources already plus additional more resources. Is the Southside, your formation being discriminated against?"

ACP Chester Williams - Regional Commander, Eastern Division South
"Well I will tell you that I would wish that the 2 vehicles were assigned to us we really needed the two vehicles. We are significantly low in terms of where vehicular resources is concern and we do have a huge area to cover and like you rightfully mentioned the area is significantly gang infested. Many of times we find ourselves in difficult situations to be able to move around but the commissioner had made that decision and so we see how we move forward from there."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir but you're restating a fact. I'm asking outwardly it seems that the Southside is systematically discriminated against. How many vehicles does the entire Southside have right now?"

ACP Chester Williams - Regional Commander, Eastern Division South
"Well currently we have 3 vehicles and we are optimistic that in the not too distant future we'll be getting some through the US embassy and it will bring our vehicular resources to where we would want it to be."

Jules Vasquez
"So then if you all have 3 vehicles, if I'm not mistaken last I checked north side with the prosecution branch and the TPU has close to 10 vehicles if not more. So then is there a pattern of favouritism then with does not work in your Southside favour?"

ACP Chester Williams - Regional Commander, Eastern Division South
"Well I will not want to venture into saying. Like I said I would have wished that we had received the 2 vehicles; I think that we really needed the vehicles and hence the reason we had asked for them but the commissioner made that decision and he is the commissioner and we will live with it."

The tourism police unit which recently received two similar vehicles had some bad luck last month when of them was rear-ended.

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