MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The Manchester Police are hopeful that bicycle patrols, scheduled to be rolled out today, will help to curb the prevalence of pickpockets in and around this central Jamaica town.

Constable Rayon Thompson from the Community Safety and Security Branch told the Rotary Club of Mandeville that it has been a long-standing challenge for the police to effectively handle the problem because most people only become aware they have lost their possessions after leaving the commercial district.

For that reason, he said, many pickpocketing incidents also go unreported.

“The pickpocketing … I don’t want to say it’s out of control but it’s an epidemic in and around Mandeville town,” he said.

Thompson said that the bicycle patrols would extend the reach of the police.

One Rotarian questioned the effectiveness of surveillance cameras in the town.

Thompson responded that pickpockets are finding ways to outsmart the system.

He said that because the cameras rotate and are not always focused in one direction allows for some criminals to get ahead in their activities.

“What they do after they pick the person, they do a change. So let us say the camera saw when a red shirt man (picked) you, by the time they (police) should send a patrol that red shirt man is now in a blue shirt,” said Thompson.

Thompson said that citizens needed to take a more active role in their own safety by being more vigilant as they go about their business.

For example, he suggested that shoppers plan ahead when making purchases and take out the money they need ahead of time instead of opening their purses and wallets in busy market places.

Other ways that citizens can be proactive, he said, is to avoid shopping alone in some locations and securing personal items such as phones when they are out.

Despite the drawbacks with surveillance cameras, Thompson urged private citizens to partner with the police to increase the number of the devices across Mandeville.

Thompson also zeroed in on housebreaking in Mandeville, noting that many such incidents occur when properties are unoccupied. He advised citizens to put proper safety measures in place for when they are not at home.

He cautioned however ,that while it is the constitutional right of every citizen to protect their lives and property it should be done within the constraints of the law.