Operation Saline Solution (SS) II is becoming less about flushing out criminals than stopping their movement in and out of Buxton and thereby addressing the fears of neighbouring villagers.
At his weekly post-cabinet press briefing yesterday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, said the adjustments were necessitated by the criminals’ new focus on nearby communities.
The new measures include increased mobile and static patrols at strategic locations along with 24-hour vehicular and individual patrols.
The modalities he said are being worked out following interactions between government functionaries and senior law enforcement officials.
Law enforcement officials, the HPS admitted, in planning for Operation SSII did not anticipate the sudden and vast increase in crime in the immediate communities. Luncheon saw no quick fix or instant solution to the current crime-situation which he sees as a complex one which is likely to require a series of interventions.
But he ruled out the likelihood of an imposition of any form of restriction be it a curfew or otherwise as these offered no certainty of solving the situation.
Luncheon said aggressive police and army action in the last weeks of December along the East Coast corridor and within the city resulted in a significant reduction in crime compared to the second and third quarters of 2002.
Touching on the current increasing trend of attacks on law enforcement personnel, Luncheon saw it as a severe and unprecedented challenge to both the agencies and wider society.
Efforts he said are being made to raise morale along with new safety measures for policemen.
This will include transportation to and from the policemen’s homes.