by JUSTIN MARVILLE

THE POLICE need your help in curbing crime across this country.

Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin made it clear yesterday that his force cannot tackle the fight against crime on its own.

He told residents of the rural district of Bridge Cot, St George: "It's a myth that the police can do it all alone."

Dottin made the plea as he delivered the feature address during the launch of the neighbourhood watch in that area.

The launch was attended by a number of people from Bridge Cot as well as Member of Parliament for St George North, Gline Clarke, and former candidate Colin Spencer.

Dottin spoke of a need for communities across the country to establish neighbourhood watches to help lower the levels of crime in the society.

"It is quite clear that communities must be more active in crime prevention," Dottin said, adding that "over the years if we in the police have encouraged the feeling that we can do it all [then] I think that it is wrong".

He said that "the fact that people are actually able to look out for each other, to make a determination as to whether there are suspicious people and that things are in place, does work".

He warned residents of Bridge Cot Terrace and others across Barbados against starting community programmes to address crime.

Dottin said such types of neighbourhood watches tended to fail, pointing out that only two of the nine other community watches in nearby areas were active.

"If there are other things that drive communities together, those neighbourhood watches would tend to be more enduring," Dottin said.

Clarke supported Dottin's stance and lauded the efforts of the Bridge Cot Terrace neighbourhood watch president Sonia Frederick for mobilising the community to establish the project.