Appeal for residents to help police reduce break-ins in Gray’s Green community

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Burglar trying to pry open window on house
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By Theresa Goodwin

[email protected]

The victim of a recent burglary is appealing to the public to provide the police with whatever information they can in order to address an uptick in such criminal activity in Grays Green.

Industrial Relations Consultant and political hopeful for the St John’s Rural West Constituency, Anderson Carty, raised the alarm after his home was broken into over the weekend, and several items valued at close to $10,000 were stolen.

“There [is] a number of people who are unemployed because of the pandemic and are, unfortunately, using this activity to seek out a living, albeit this is not the best way to go about it,” Carty said.

“The perpetrators are also finding a market, which is also concerning; people are buying from these individuals. If people were refusing to purchase these items, then that would alleviate some of the challenges.”

Regarding his personal experience, Carty said he left home around 8:30 pm and returned about 9:30 the following morning.

He became suspicious as he approached his home and noticed the verandah light was not on as customary whenever he leaves the premises. Upon closer examination, he also discovered that the front door was ajar and the locks securing the door were damaged.

“It was also obvious that something like a crowbar had been used to pry open the locks and the door. When I opened the door, I was greeted by what looked like a whirlwind had passed through my living room. I also journeyed to one or two bedrooms and it was even worse,” Carty recounted.

After a careful assessment, he discovered that two large flat screen Samsung televisions, an HP laptop, a high-tech bicycle, a cellular phone, a coin box containing about $800-$900, several watches and other jewellery were missing.

“It appears to me that it was more than one individual [who] came into my home because there were shoe prints all over the house. I immediately summoned the police who came and took some fingerprints to assist in the investigations,” Carty said.

He also revealed that this was not the first time that intruders had broken into his home, and that other homeowners within the neighbourhood have also fallen victim to thieves.

“I am appealing to the general public, those in and outside the community, to see what they could do to help the police. It is becoming a huge problem,” he stated.

Earlier this month, the Commissioner of Police, Altee Rodney, disclosed that thefts made up the bulk of crimes committed during the first quarter of this year, and showed a marked increase over the number of such incidents recorded during the same period in 2020.

He added that out of 586 crimes reported to the police from January to March 2021, 463 were related to theft.

The commissioner noted that this was quite concerning and urged the public to remain vigilant.

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