By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

AFTER six armed robberies in the capital over the weekend, press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings urged residents and business owners to be vigilant and take all necessary precautions to remain safe.

CSP Skippings said the police are concerned about the armed robbery incidents that have occurred recently.

She further explained factors that are believed to be necessary for crime to occur.

“I would like to say in order for crime to occur three things must be present,” she told The Tribune. “You must have a suitable target, the opportunity must present itself, and there must be something of value. If you remove one of those from the equation, crime can’t cannot occur.”

According to CSP Skippings, most of the crimes police have seen recently are “crimes of opportunity”.

“Most of the crimes we are seeing occur are crimes of opportunity. They occur when persons are not being vigilant and not looking out,” she said. She is appealing to residents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings at all times.

CSP Skippings urged business owners not to leave large sums of cash in their establishments and to seek the assistance of police as a preventive measure.

“I also want to remind business owners to desist from leaving large sums of cash in their business establishment, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” she told The Tribune yesterday.

“I want to encourage them to reach out to commanders of the various stations under which their business falls and discuss a plan where your funds can be safely deposited to the bank,” she added.

Her comments came as police reported six armed robberies that occurred within three days.

Of those six incidents, one took place on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday.

The most recent incident reportedly occurred shortly after 4am on Sunday when a man pulled up to his Kemp Road home and was approached by two armed men. The suspects robbed the victim of his Rolex watch and cell phone and attempted to rob him of his white Nissan Note, however, were unsuccessful.

The second incident occurred after 1pm on Sunday at an eatery located on East Street South.

Reports indicate that two armed men, both of whom wore red hats, black shirts, and jeans reportedly robbed the establishment of an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the area on foot heading north.

In the third incident, around 3pm on Saturday, a business on Bernard Road was robbed by three men who allegedly were armed with a handgun. The culprits reportedly forced the cashier to unlock the company safe where they stole an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing the area on foot.

Then shortly before 5pm, a woman in the area of Old Trail Road was robbed of her purse, which contained an undisclosed amount of cash and personal items. The victim was approached by an armed man who reportedly fled the area south along Old Trail Road in a black Nissan Note.

Moments later, a 16-year-old youth was robbed of his cell phone and cash in the Bain and Grants Town area. According to reports, the victim was sitting on a wall in the Augusta Street area when he was approached by two men who he knew.

It is further reported that one of the men produced a handgun, which resulted in the victim fleeing the area on foot through a nearby track road. As the teen ran through the track road, he was approached by a third man, and robbed of his belongings.

The sixth robbery occurred shortly after 11am on Friday in the Carmichael Road area. A local family food store was robbed of an undetermined amount of cash by a masked armed man. The suspect fled the scene on foot.

Investigations into all these matters are continuing.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477).