Police Planning

Friday, May 29th...that's around month end right? Saturday, May 30th, that's a public holiday, Indian Arrival Day. So then the weekend could easily be called a holiday weekend.

To recap... month end, holiday weekend...plenty commercial activity, traffic, the works.

So on this busy Friday morning, this is what is happening in SanFernando. Students of Vistabella Presbyterian School circle the San Fernando Hill on a walkathon. The route.... Circular Road to Mon Repos traffic light, Royal Road, along Coffee Street, Harris Promenade, High Street, (yes High Street!), Pointe -a-Pierre Road back to the School.

This walkathon is escorted by a police vehicle. The students are chanting "Go Green!"

Now if you have ever seen Vistabella Presbyterian School, it is a blue concrete block with not a sign of green. But they are teaching us about green. Yes they are!

The question is, however, how do the police ever come up with permission for these events on days such as these? The long lines of bumper to bumper traffic are more likely to make people "See Red" than "Go Green".

What this tells us is that there is need for the police to understand this City. I'll share a few anecdotes with you so you will know how the service works.

1. I once flagged down a police vehicle on Cipero Street near Republic Bank to show them that the bank's customers preferred to park on the pavement than the bank's parking lot. Pedestrians were forced to walk in the street to accommodate these customers. The policeman looked at the vehicles on the pavement and said "I don't see a No Parking sign there?"

2. I called Mon Repos Police to ask for an officer to speak to the students of Mon Repos R.C. School about their behaviour on the streets. The police station is 300 feet away from the school. And the officer...clearly his head is in the clouds... "I didn't know there is a school there..."

3. I called again to let the police know that someone was tying nylon wire across the streets at night. Cars caught in the web had to stop to cut the line. The policeman's offering.."Why would they want to do that?"

Happy policing!!!