Trim defends pursuit of West Bank fugitive
Stabroek News
November 13, 2003
Crime Chief Leon Trim has defended police actions in trying to solve crimes and apprehend criminals, including fugitive Neil Bovell.
"Detective work is work that is very tedious. Sometimes things happen very quickly and sometimes it takes a long time. In some sophisticated systems it takes years," he told the Disciplined Forces Commission.
"Don't you think there is something fundamentally wrong with the detective capability of the force, when a man, the very man you are looking for, this [Neil] Bovell is hiding out in one area? And according to information in the public domain he is in collaboration with some special constable.
He has been hiding out in one area for more than a month, isn't it possible to flush the man out?" Commissioner Charles Ramson asked Trim.
"I don't think there is something fundamentally wrong. The man is not hiding out in one place. He is a roving target, hiding out from place to place. We did get intelligence, we held a stakeout and unfortunately a man was shot," Trim said, referring to Eustace Small, the elderly man who was mistakenly killed by police last Saturday at Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara.
Bovell is wanted for the murder of three persons and the abduction of a Stanleytown girl.
The commission is currently reviewing the operations of the police force and the other disciplined forces. It will make recommendations to improve their operational efficiency, which will be considered by the National Assembly.