Woodford community plagued by shop break-ins
Published:Tuesday | February 8, 2022 | 12:07 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
A total of three break-ins that occurred last month in the New Grange, Woodford area of East Rural St Andrew continue to haunt the shopkeepers and bar owners who were victims of the crime and who were temporarily made destitute last December.
Residents confessed that they believe the perpetrators will not be punished and that justice will not prevail. This is so as despite their despair, they say police officers at the Irish Town Police Station who took their statements have not reported any progress in their investigations to locate the perpetrators.
Due to the crimes, property owners who previously would leave their shops and bars unlocked without fear of being burglared are no longer confident to do so.
Unknown burglars allegedly invaded the district, breaking and penetrating the barred and bolted entrances of local pubs and stores, stealing liquor, food, a video surveillance security system, and a gaming machine. The criminals reportedly struck after the police had done their regular patrols of the rural community.
Shernette Nicholson, a bar owner of 10 years, explained that the cops from the Irish Town station would usually patrol around 9:30 p.m. to get people to lock up their businesses and go home as the nightly 10 p.m. curfew drew near.
The cops would then return to Irish Town and are not seen again until the next day, as the station is approximately 14 miles away.
LONGER PERIODS OF SURVEILLANCE
“When dem come early and gone, dem (thieves) know say dem nah come again so them just have all the free time fi do weh dem wah fi do and nothing nah come outta it,” she said, pleading for longer periods of surveillance in the area.
Since the incident, Nicholson explained that she has had to stand the additional cost of putting in added security measures. She believes that nothing will come of the reports she has made, despite everyone in the area having an idea of who was a part of the group who committed the act.
“Me cah sleep a night, me cah sleep,” she bemoaned, her fears unending.
“From them tek the report, nothing, nothing, nothing,” she expressed in frustration.
A sergeant at Irish Town Police Station also informed The Gleaner that the area does not regularly experience acts of robbery, adding that there has been no further burglaries reported since the start of the new year.
It was not disclosed whether the investigation resulted in an arrest, or if any persons of interest were identified.
Strobora Patterson, whose shop was also broken into, told The Gleaner that this was not the first time an incident such as this happened, as a bar located in the Woodford square was robbed up to three times in the space of one month.
He also said he suspects that the perpetrators came from outside of the community as the area is very reserved, peaceful and without acts of violence or theft. “But sometimes people go out and come in and observe [the area],” he admitted.
Summarising that the “times have changed,” Patterson has been seriously considering installing additional security features, although he rents the shop so as to prevent any further loss and to feel more at ease.
With the cops unable to provide any further details on the matter, like other locals, Patterson’s patience is wearing thin.
“Dem don’t have a clue, me feel like dem just come and tek opinion pon di ting but nothing else nah work out,” he said, noting that the community has since given up hope and written off the loss. They are now focused on rebuilding, he said.