Cabinet has agreed to the procurement and acquisition of 25 police mobile units.
At Thursday’s Post Cabinet Media Briefing, Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge said the units will be used in joint operations by the police and the Defence Force.
“These mobile police units would comprise of five units, which are similar in size to 20-foot containers, and these units can sleep four to eight officers, and a further 20 units, similar in dimension to 40-foot shipping containers, and these containers can sleep six to 12 officers. These units are being constructed and, when constructed, will be deployed with a view to enhancing police visibility and to strengthen the presence of law enforcement in communities nationwide.”
The Minister said the units will be strategically placed around the country to monitor and respond to crime and traffic incidents.
“It facilitates the rapid response to incidents in communities we would not name now, but communities where, having got the data we have from the CAPA Agency of the Police Service, we know that these are communities which are most in need of policing. It enables 24-7 monitoring, and it would also be used as a strategic tool to assist in border control. The first phase, we intend to use it to target specific areas where we see there is a growth in terms of a certain demographic, a demographic which a particular now-designated terrorist entity dwells among, and this initiative would be with a view to eradicating the existence of members of this particular now-designated terrorist group. So, this is expected to be deployed in the coming months.”
Minister Sturge assured that the units will be built locally in a manner that is favourable to taxpayers’ interests.