St. John’s Antigua- Police commissioner Vere Browne and service station operators yesterday mulled ideas on security measures that could be implemented to improve safety at all stations.
The meeting comes on the heels of Friday night’s murder of Dorothy Prince, an attendant at Dee’s 24-hour service station who was gunned down during a robbery carried out by four armed men.
Public relations officer for the Service Stations Dealers’ Association Philbert Mason said some of the ideas brainstormed would be implemented immediately while others would take time before being approved.
“(The session) had to do with electronic surveillance, police surveillance and rapid response. We left with the assurance that, in part, some things will be implemented immediately and others are to go to higher a level to allow our service industry to function with greater ease,” Mason told The Daily OBSERVER.
One major “positive” move, Mason revealed, is the implementation of a “one number alert” system for all stations. He declined to give details of how the system would operate and who or what agency would be on the receiving end of the call and the type of response that would be available.
Mason said the 20 plus operators and or their representatives are confident going forward.
The commissioner has assured the owners and operators of the service stations that the police will continue do everything in their power, with the assistance of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, to keep their staff and businesses safe. This will include increase foot and mobile patrols in the areas where these service stations are located.
Meantime, the service station PRO disclosed that on the day of the funeral of the fallen attendant all service stations would pay resects by closing for a certain time.
“On the day of funeral, stations would be closed for a time, not for the whole day and we would want the public to be knowledgeable because we would not necessarily want to inconvenience the public but our sensitivity of the situation is clearly indicated from the membership level,” he said.
The time and date of the funeral are yet to be determined.
