Scamming rooted among young, old in Manchester

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Police here say even as they will be deploying new strategies to combat a rise in murders and shootings, parents should stop turning a blind eye to children involved in the illicit yet lucrative lottery scamming that has been fuelling crime in Manchester.

“A raid was carried out recently and [among those] we picked up were a 14-year-old, an 18-year-old, and [someone] 60 plus. When you check their phones, they have lead sheets. Tell me, what is a 14-year-old doing with a lead sheet?” administrative officer for Manchester, Deputy Superintendent Natalie Hall-Williams asked residents of May Day, south of Mandeville on Monday during a community meeting.

She raised the concern to highlight her point of the extent of scamming being rooted in Manchester, with some parents not being vigilant enough to deter the activity.

“We need to start parenting the right way. We leave a lot to the police. Something happens and the first thing you want to do is to take your child to the police station and say, ‘Officer my son, my daughter is giving me problems’, [but] it starts with you. You have to train that child. You should check your children’s bags; it starts with a pencil, a ruler. You don’t ask questions to say, ‘Where did you get [those from]? I didn’t give you that pen’, but you say nothing and that is how it starts,” she said.

She continued to emphasise the worrying trend of the spoils of lottery scamming being accepted by many parents.

Police personnel and agency representatives on a walk-through of May Day and Old England in Manchester on Monday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

“They [children] leave school [and] you don’t know of them being gainfully employed. Under a certain age they cannot buy a lottery ticket and they come in and have a high-end vehicle. You don’t know where they get that cash from, but you sit and allow it, and turn a blind eye,” said Hall-Williams

“The next thing, you see another [vehicle] come in and they ask, ‘aunty, mommy, daddy can I put it in your name’. They are not working. What signal is it that you are sending out there to that child? You are not setting an example. There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child, but it seems as if that has gone through the window, it is like everybody is for themselves,” she added.

She warned that there will be a relentless push against lottery scamming through Area Three’s Operation Reset.

“We are going after these scammers and we have our strategies in place… if you are not a criminal and you are not associated with any criminals then you have nothing to worry about,” she said.

Statistics from the police show that up to Saturday, July 25, Manchester recorded 23 murders compared to 16 for the corresponding period last year.

Police units and personnel on patrol for Operation Reset in Mandeville last Friday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Hall-Williams sought to assure residents that detectives are working to solve recent murders including a July 18 double murder of nursing student Deenekia Pounall and Sadefa Henry, who were killed in a taxi by a gunman who posed as a passenger.

“Active investigations are going on right now and I know that in short order that will be cleared,” she said while also appealing to bar owners to adhere to the stipulated opening hours and curfew orders.

“We have observed that a number of incidents happen at bars. We had an incident at Greenvale, where the bar was open until 1:30 am and the law says bars must be closed at midnight,” she said.

Pointing to the need for the implementation of curfews in some communities, she asked for the patience and understanding of citizens.

“It is a temporary measure, because it is reviewed by the management team to see what is happening in the space and if there is a need for it to be extended with the time being changed. People have their businesses and they want to conduct their business, but we have to look at the lives of our citizens,” she said.