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Surveillance DVRs should be hidden – D Division Commander
By Romila Boodram
A number of entrepreneurs from Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD) were educated by the police on the importance of protecting their businesses from criminal activities.
A DVR with surveillance cameras
During a tour by Commander of ‘D’ Division, Ian Amsterdam and his administrative team last week through the busy shopping areas, the level of personal security exercised by businesses were examined.
Businessmen who had already installed CCTV (Closed-circuit television) cameras to protect their entities, were advised to hide their DVRs since, according to Amsterdam, bandits are taking the storage device with them after committing robberies.
The CCTV cameras can produce images or recordings while the DVR is the device that stores the images or the recordings for surveillance purposes.
This newspaper was told that there are some DVRs which can record remotely and therefore can be kept at another location rather than leaving it at the business place.
“Some businessmen leave their DVRs in the open where people can see as soon as they enter the store and that is not advisable,” the Commander said.
He recalled one instance where a businesswoman, Pavita Singh also known as Sirmattie Ramnaress, was murdered and her attackers attempted to set her two storey house on fire at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) in September 2013.
According to Amsterdam, investigators discovered that the surveillance footage which would have recorded when Singh’s attacker entered and exited the building, had disappeared.
The 48-year-old businesswoman’s body was found lying face down in her garage with two stab wounds; one to the neck and another to the hip.
So far, investigators have been unable to identify a suspect, although they have interviewed several persons, including Ramnaress’ reputed husband who is a police sergeant.
Commander Amsterdam with a businessman.
Detectives had also taken DNA samples from the dead woman’s husband and her close associates, in the hope of finding the perpetrators behind what they believe was a well-planned murder.
Had it not been for the disappearance of the DVR, the perpetrator(s) would have already been brought to justice.
Kaieteur News understands that the Commander and his team visited all the business places in Vreed-en-Hoop including lumber yards, boutiques, restaurants and stores.
The Commander said that the decision was made to visit Vreed-en-Hoop because that community is considered a “hot spot” where most persons conduct their daily and weekly transactions. He divulged that he and his team are planning a visit to Parika, East Bank Essequibo, to check out the security level of the businesses there.
Kaieteur News understands that ‘D’ Division has thus far recorded a five percent decrease in crime countrywide for this year.
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