Un­der grey skies and in­ter­mit­tent rain­fall yes­ter­day, work­ers con­tin­ued as­sem­bling the met­al frame­work of a new joint po­lice and army post in Tarou­ba, bring­ing Gov­ern­ment’s lat­est crime-fight­ing ini­tia­tive one step clos­er to re­al­i­ty.

The struc­ture, be­ing erect­ed on a con­crete foun­da­tion near Tar­o­dale, is al­ready draw­ing mixed but large­ly pos­i­tive re­ac­tions from res­i­dents and busi­ness own­ers, many of whom say a stronger se­cu­ri­ty pres­ence could help curb crime and im­prove re­sponse times.

For 75-year-old Tarou­ba res­i­dent Harold Badri, the de­ci­sion is a straight­for­ward one.