Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Days after four bandits were killed and two others arrested in Cunupia after a home invasion, farmers and homeowners in Aranguez are calling for similar attention from the police after a spate of robberies and praedial larceny in their community.
Their calls came hours after a couple was attacked during a home invasion at their Hosein Trace, Boundary Road, Aranguez, residence early on Monday morning.
Police said the couple had been asleep when, around 4 am, they were awoken by six masked bandits who beat them and stole a quantity of cash and jewellery before fleeing in a waiting Nissan Tiida.
Over the past six years, there have been several reports of home invasions and violent robberies in and around Aranguez and parts of Barataria, particularly along the Johnny King Road, Samaroo Road and Sookia Trace.
One police officer told Guardian Media that there may be a point of overlap between issues of praedial larceny and home invasions, especially in agricultural communities, as bandits kept a close watch on when farmers sold their produce and attacked when they returned home with their earnings.
Lifelong farmer Bharath Rampersad, who was tending to his crops at his field on Samaroo Trace, Aranguez, said he has experienced firsthand the impact of crime as he was held at gunpoint some years ago after completing a bank transaction.
“I wasn’t a victim of a home invasion, but I was robbed outside my gate with two bandits pointing guns at my head.
“I think I’m on my second life after that experience because they followed me from the bank.”
Rampersad said that as his land was located on a relatively busy access road near the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, he felt vulnerable to people who were free to monitor his movements and strike whenever they saw an opportunity.
“Aranguez has so many areas to enter and exit, it’s difficult to keep that under control because these critters tend to pass, prowl, scope out the area and look for their targets, so it’s difficult to keep that under control.”
Despite this, Rampersad said he would feel more at ease if focused police action, similar to what occurred in Cunupia, could be introduced in Aranguez.
Another farmer, Malcolm Joseph, said that while he felt there was a recent lull in the spate of praedial larcenies and robberies in the community compared to previous years, the danger posed by criminals was never very far away.
“Sometimes you have to come and spend nights upon nights to watchman your own garden. At the end of the day, it’s real stress. But I stopped doing that because we living in a real dangerous time and to be honest, my wife and children get really nervous when they know I’m here after dark.”
When contacted for comment on Tuesday, criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad said while he did not have conclusive data to suggest that criminals were shifting their attentions to rural, agricultural areas, it was plausible that they would follow patterns to ensure they received the highest amount of money with the least resistance.
He noted that criminals would observe the habits of people in rural communities where the fear of crime may not be as high in urbanised centres and adjust their focus.
“It is reasonable to assume, and I’m saying that in the absence of the data to confirm, but it’s reasonable to assume some people who contemplate home invasions may very well gravitate towards rural communities due to perceived vulnerabilities in these communities.
“Sometimes you walking in these communities, you notice people’s doors are wide open, their gates are wide open, it’s very different from an urban community where doors are locked and windows are shut.”
Efforts to contact the head of the North Eastern Division, Snr Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne, through the TTPS Corporate Communications Unit were unsuccessful.
