radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
It has been more than a month since Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein promised to hire 40 new officers for the Praedial Larceny Squad and purchase three new patrol vehicles.
But farmers at Cedar Hill, Princes Town, say they are continuing to face major theft in their agricultural fields.
President of the Cedar Hill Estate Farmers’ Association Sharon Thomas said yesterday that thieves have still been raiding their fields and although reports are made to the Princes Town Police Station, little has been done to arrest the thieves.
She said in late January, 14 beds of sweet potatoes and cassava were pilfered.
“We lost over $10,000 worth of crops and the police have not found the culprits,” she said.
Thomas said before 2021, a team of officers attached to the Praedial Larceny Squad in Craignish made regular patrols in the farming area but she said changes were subsequently made to the unit and since then patrols have dried up.
“The Praedial Larceny Squad, which recently ‘downed tools’, are not the same officers who patrolled our farming communities or assisted us in our moments of distress,” she said.
Thomas said the officers at Craignish should be reinstated.
“These officers are very hard working and the results of this are seen in the numerous arrests made in the Southern Division before,” she added.
Three days ago, the ministry advertised for the recruitment of Praedial Larceny officers.
Speaking in the Senate a few weeks ago, Hosein said he intended to address the issue of larceny by boosting the squad with additional manpower and vehicles.
He said because of the increase in larceny of crops and livestock, the unit has been depending on the TTPS, Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS) and the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited (EMBD) Police to respond and assist with reported incidents of theft.
He also gave the assurance that all concerns made by the squad will be addressed.
Police officers have complained of poor working conditions and discrepancies in salaries of officers.
Since May last year, former TTPS Public Information officer Sheridon Hill had confirmed an increase in praedial larceny reports.
MP for Moruga, Michelle Benjamin, also said 50 per cent of the people in her constituency were involved in farming and praedial larceny has been a big problem since the unit went down.