Car thieves cashing in

Car thieves intent on committing more serious crimes in Barbados are driving their way down easy street.And the Royal Barbados Police Force is lamenting a lack of legislative power which could assist them in fighting the island’s newest crime wave.The fact that there are now 133 457 registered vehicles in Barbados is making the fight even tougher.Assistant Commissioner of Police, Oral Williams made this disclosure yesterday at a road-traffic seminar, aimed at taking Barbados into a new age of road safety.“Our criminals have become more mobile and have been using vehicles, those mechanically and otherwise propelled, to facilitate the commission of crime,” Williams said at the seminar, themed Preparing Barbados To Respond To The Global Road Safety Challenge. “They have been going to the manufacturers of number plates, purchasing the two plates bearing that number, and placing them on similar makes and models of cars. Now John Doe (the car’s original owner) will have great difficulty convincing the authorities that it was not his vehicle involved in these crimes,” Williams revealed.The senior cop added that the absence of modern technology and supporting legislation have retarded law enforcement from nipping the crime wave in the bud.Yesterday’s seminar, held at the Weymouth Corporate Centre, was a joint colloboration between the Police’s Traffic Division, and the General Insurance Association of Barbados.Williams noted that with amendments to the Road Traffic Act expected soon, the fight should be made easier, through electronic registration and a thorough camera surveillance networks on the country’s major roadways. (BA)