A longtime owner of the once-exclusive Rockley Golf & Country Club is calling on management to urgently improve security measures at the vast Christ Church complex following a series of disturbing incidents.
The owner of one of the condominiums on the 70-acre parkland, which hosts Barbados’ first golf course, said that while criminal activity at the complex was not on a large scale, he fears it could spiral out of control without immediate intervention.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the resident recounted a shocking recent discovery when he approached his BMW in the complex’s car park intending to go to the beach.
“When I got to my car, I saw my two seats – the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat – lying back on the back seat. So I said to myself, this is very strange,” he recounted. “When I looked in the car, all of my swimming equipment was gone – floats, snorkels, everything that I use which was in a little bag. I don’t keep anything of value in the vehicle.”
Second night
“I saw clothes thrown all over the seats. I said, ‘Whose clothes are these?’ Apparently, this is a paro . . . he slept in my car,” the resident stated.
After sanitising the vehicle and discarding the dirty clothing, the resident hoped the ordeal was over. However, the following morning, he discovered a cover over the trunk of his vehicle. Upon closer inspection, he found a different set of clothes inside the BMW and the seats reclined once again.
“I said, ‘What is going on here?’ I didn’t cover my car last night. When I looked in the car, the same thing again – seats back, different clothes. He came with a different set of clothes and this is two consecutive nights,” he said.
A neighbour later provided a startling explanation, reporting seeing a man exiting the community pool wearing a mask. The resident believes the intruder was using his stolen snorkelling gear.
“So he was swimming in the pool this Sunday afternoon. And he was in front of my car, wiping himself off with a towel. And he got back in the car, pushed back the seat, and went off to sleep,” the resident surmised.
The incident has highlighted broader security concerns within the estate. The
resident noted that other tenants had reported strangers knocking on their doors and a female resident recently reported being followed.
He expressed frustration with management’s response and the current state of security, pointing out that he pays $910 in monthly maintenance fees, which was supposed to cover security.
“When I first moved here, there used to be two security guards walking around during the day and at night. But they keep cutting back and cutting back. They went down to somebody coming in at night and then all of a sudden, they abolished the security and put up cameras,” he said.
Noting that many apartments on the estate were now utilised as Airbnb and tourist rentals, the resident is calling for the return of a physical security presence, specifically a guard at the entrance in what was once a guard hut.
“I’m not really bothered about the stuff I lost in the car,” he said, adding that since the incidents, he has been constantly monitoring his vehicle to see if the culprit returns. The matter has been reported to the police and his attorney.
When contacted an official at the complex confirmed the complaint from the tenant but pointed out that they had since discovered that the “vagrant” may have been someone who once lived on the estate several years ago.
She said a power outage had knocked out surveillance cameras on the block where the tenant resided and these were in the process of being recitified. She further assured that except for minor incidents security was intact at the complex, pointing out that they would continue to engage the aggrieved tenant. (MB)
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