Dear Editor,
An article in the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday of August 23 stated, “Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday declared the State is at war with criminals, as she announced more than a dozen new initiatives for which consensus had been reached in principle, in talks with the Opposition.”
And the T&T Express of the same day quoted Opposition Leader, Dr Keith Rowley: “We are saying that this matter requires urgent action; we will not put any political impediment in the Government’s way in treating with the loss of security and loss of opportunities for people in East Port of Spain or anywhere else.”
Are President Donald Ramotar, PNC leader, David Granger and the AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan taking note? Surely these three stalwart gentlemen would, by now, have recognized the imperative expressed by the T&T PM, “No political party, no individual government can solve crime alone. This is neither a party nor a political issue. The fight against crime should be something that unites us, not divides us.”
And thus, however Guyana’s political leaders engage each other and the wider society, and whatever is the outcome, consideration ought to be given to the following:
-Given the frequency of robberies and quantities of loot seized by gun-toting, million-dollar robbers, it is inconceivable that, at least in some, if not all cases, families, friends and/or relatives do not benefit. Should there therefore not be some kind of measure to hold such beneficiaries accountable as well?
-Stringent gun control measures need to be applied. There is a view that guns allegedly end up in the hands of criminals as rentals from some members of the security forces and even some licensed gun owners. Such an assertion should not be dismissed out of hand, but rather all efforts should be taken to find out its veracity and, if necessary, block the loopholes wherever they exist, while taking those responsible to task. Of course measures must also be in place to ensure that those who have firearms use them responsibly and within the confines of the law. There should be no tolerance for modern-day cowboys drunkenly waving their guns about and threatening the citizenry.
-Also, as in T&T, consideration should be given to employing the army as part of a concerted crime-fighting campaign. This should not really be cost intensive, since a lot of army personnel are not actively deployed. Perhaps joint army-police exercises would ensure that efforts are maximized and executed within desired parameters.
-Give due consideration to all valid and implementable ideas aired, whether in the media or elsewhere. And tap into and utilize whatever resources are available, including security experts who may be willing to lend their efforts voluntarily or within reasonable bounds.
-Any mechanisms set up to persuade citizens to report wrongdoing – bribery, corruption, abuse of power or privilege whatever – must be allowed to operate independently of political interference, and provided with resources and scope to follow through to legal redress, wherever necessary. Also, those who lodge such reports should either be provided with confidentiality, anonymity or legal protection as appropriate. Then and only then will citizens be encouraged to utilize these mechanisms.
-Working with business organizations, the business community and the banks to imbue a culture of not carrying on their person, or having in their homes, large amounts of cash. Businesses should persuade their employees to set up accounts and facilitate being paid via cheque. And businessmen should use cheques and, where possible, credit or debit cards. Should there be an absolute need to move large amounts of money, then spend a few dollars extra, employ an armoured vehicle and/or guards and take all precautionary measures. Most importantly, businesspersons should not become creatures of habit as criminals thrive on such predictability. Also, where used, delivery trucks should not carry cash; other arrangements should be in place to handle transfer of, or exchanges involving money.
-Given the wide disparity between judgments handed down by the courts for offences of a similar nature, and often times, petty crimes being penalized much more harshly than major crimes, some sort of guidelines ought to be in place to help redress that disparity. While this is a technical and complex issue and while judges and magistrates do have autonomy, political leaders have the duty to set frameworks that ensure that justice is both done and appears to be done.
-Minister Westford’s appeal for women to get out of abusive situations can only be possible if safety nets are available for them, since women are generally economically dependent on their male partners and further tied down if they have children. Meanwhile domestic violence perpetrators should be accorded the full force of the law at all times. If their abusers do not want to pursue matters surely there can be a mechanism that would allow the state to do so? Ditto for sexual predators.
-Since violence begets violence corporal punishment in schools should be abolished and teachers should be trained in classroom management that does without use of corporal punishment. The argument that former generations were brought up by the whip at school and such measures were effective, fails to take cognizance of changing norms, new knowledge and information about the socialization process and changing social and familial relations. Besides, abolishing corporal punishment would also bring Guyana in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. And it would be a preemptive measure against violence and associated crimes.
-Finally political and other leaders need to publicly declare their assets and liabilities so that the public is certain that crime-fighting measures are not a case of ‘setting cat to watch milk’ but that those who plan and implement these programmes and policies are above board and can be trusted. Otherwise neither the leaders nor the policies would be taken seriously.
Editor, these ideas are neither new nor radical nor impractical. But, as T&T Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissesar pointed out, “It will take the collective efforts of the Government, all other political groups, the protective services, NGOs, businesses and citizens. Crime is everybody’s business and we cannot end it if we put partisan interests ahead of the good of our country.”
Yours faithfully,
Annan Boodram