Dear Editor,

On Friday, September 5, 2008, at 12.15 am I was approaching my home on the East Bank of Demerara and as I got into the yard I heard a funny sound coming from inside my house. I decided to get a closer look and to my surprise I saw three shadows inside my home. Being scared I went to my neighbour’s home to call the police, because after trying from my cell phone to dial 261-2222 which is supposed to be the number of the Timehri Police Station, it rang out. By the time I got to the neighbour’s home, the thieves had had enough time to flee.

When I did get through to the police station at 1.30 am the officer on duty (name provided) told me that there were no drivers at the station so I would have to wait till morning for a patrol to come.

Having no other choice I let my father once again call the station this morning (Friday, September 5) to find out what can be done about the situation. This time it was a different officer with the same story – no driver here.
What I’d like to know is would my body have to be lifeless and gunshots have to ring out or should I have said that guns and ammunition had been stolen from me to get the police to actually respond in a timely manner?

Yours faithfully,
R Mohamed

Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene for any comment he may wish to make.