by Linda Straker
- Call received by police dispatch centre was not false
- Claim of robbery was published via social media platforms
- Police asked for retraction of robbery claim
Superintendent Vannie Curwen who is in charge of Crimes at Police Headquarters told the media on Friday, 18 November 2022, that a telephone call received by the police dispatch centre at 7:02 pm on Thursday, 17 November, was not false, because an incident did occur.
“Police immediately responded, and after an initial assessment, determined that the information was not authentic. No robbery was committed in that area this evening,” said a news release issued by the police minutes after the claim became a social media trend discussion.
On Friday, Curwen told a news conference, “I want to categorically say that what happened yesterday evening was not necessarily a false call. We did not have a robbery, that is true, but we welcome the call that we received. There was an incident and somebody thought it was a robbery and called the police.”
The claim of robbery was published via social media platforms by individuals and at least one media outlet based in New York. Curwen said that the social media broadcast caused the police to put out a statement asking the media house and others who posted the robbery claim to retract the statement.
“It was a call reporting something that did not actually happen… there was an altercation outside the business place that was reported to be the victim of the robbery. It was not a robbery. There was an altercation between 2 persons, the particular vehicle that was spoken of was on the scene and that vehicle drove off speedily,” Curwen explained.
“I guess that raised the whole concern to what is it that was actually happening and the person who actually made the call was somebody who was close to the scene but certainly was not apprised of all of the situations that was happening,” he added.
In recent days, police have been called to 3 business places where robberies with violence occurred, and thousands of dollars stolen. “The RGPF reassures the public that we are on a heightened state of alert and have increased our security presence across the country, in an effort to ensure your safety,” said the Police release.
