Edinburgh, Berbice residents on Saturday night were left with no choice but to capture a burglar after New Amsterdam police failed to respond to their calls.
According to information gathered, the burglar, who is presently hospitalised at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, was noticed in resident Zalema Higgins’ Lot 1 Edinburgh Village, East Bank Berbice house around 9:15 pm.
The 48-year-old Higgins and her husband occupy the upper flat of the building while another couple lives in the lower flat.
Stabroek News was told that the tenant in the lower flat heard footsteps in the upper flat, which was unexpected since she was aware that Higgins and her husband were not at home.
The tenant then contacted Higgins who confirmed that no one was at home. However, the footsteps continued. It was then that the police were contacted numerous times.
Stabroek News was told that residents who learnt of the incident then came out and surrounded the house.
Higgins and the residents said that for over three hours they were making contact with the police attached to the New Amsterdam Police Station and the Sisters Police Station but the cops were a no-show. “New Amsterdam police say them ain’t get vehicle and them ain’t know where the patrol [is] and when we go Sisters Station, only one police went deh and he say he can’t come,” one resident said.
“I gon say about three and half hours, then I decide to open the upstairs, let the residents go in after them police na come,” Higgins said.
The tenant in the lower flat revealed that her husband drove his vehicle to the New Amsterdam Police Station and offered to transport the police but only hours later did they accept the offer after they could not locate a vehicle.
“When them boys go in, he [the burglar] did hiding under the table and he start fight up and then them boy lash he and hold he down and tie he up and still had to wait on them police for a while. Them police … come till after 12 [midnight],” she said.
The tenant said that while it was her husband who brought the police they then encountered another issue as residents were not willing to transport the burglar with their vehicles.
Subsequently, the private vehicle attached to the Canefield Community Policing Group was utilised to transport the burglar to the hospital.
Higgins, meantime, related that she found her jewellery in different locations from where she would normally keep them in the house. “Like after them villagers come out, he start put the jewellery back all over because there was no chance for him to get out of the house because people surrounded the house,” she said.
The burglar, who resides opposite Higgins, reportedly moved into the community about several months ago. He reportedly gained entry from a side window which was left unlocked. His slippers were in the neighbour’s yard from where he jumped onto the verandah then to the air-conditioning unit and slid through the window.
Meanwhile, calls to police Commander Paul Langevine for a comment on the matter were futile yesterday. Stabroek News has been unable to reach Langevine since a May 2nd article which detailed a Cumberland resident’s experience of the police failing to respond to a burglary in his home.
After that article, Langevine queried with the Berbice journalist whether she was the author of the article, which was confirmed. Since then, the said journalist has been unable to contact the commander.
Additionally, several major incidents have occurred within the division such as the fatal shooting of three bandits, raids, arrests and other matters, and this publication’s efforts to secure a comment from the commander has always been futile.
