Dr. McNeil made the observation over the weekend, as the crime spree continued to ravage the parish of Westmoreland with a number of murders being committed since the start of the year, some in broad daylight and remained unresolved despite the presence of CCTV technology.

Dr. McNeill said the government must bring more crime fighting resources to Westmoreland to stem the present crime wave because the presence of the CCTV cameras does not represent a deterrent in their current application.

“There is definitely a need for a stronger security presence in the parish and more emphasis placed on intelligence gathering,” Dr McNeill said.

He said there are several questions which require urgent responses from the Ministry of National Security.

- What is the status of the CCTV cameras?
- If the system is in place, how long has this been so?
- Are these cameras linked to a manned control room with trained personnel and appropriate equipped with storage capacity?
- And if it is being monitored, is the intelligence gathered from the cameras being made available to the security forces?

“I am pleading with the Government to put the necessary concentrated resources in place in the parish to fight the scourge of crime and possibly save lives because what is taking place in the parish is untenable,” Dr McNeill said.

-30-