Crime and Punishment

Jul 12, 2009 Editorial

The battle against violent crime has reached a critical juncture in Guyana after the upsurge in the first half of the decade we are experiencing a comparative lull. We, however, cannot become complacent and in fact ought to intensify our efforts to understand the root causes of such crime in our local environment so that our efforts at eradication will hopefully not be constantly reactive.
In general, when the question of violent crime is raised in Guyana, there are two seemingly disparate views proffered. There is first the old line “law enforcement” approach which takes the position that “those who do the crime must serve the time”. Crime is committed by criminals and those responsible for dealing with crime must take on these criminals uncompromisingly and then either incapacitate them or quarantine them away from society through incarceration.
This approach is exemplified by the tactics deployed by the combined forces to take on the various gangs that terrorised the populace in Lusignan and Bartica. While it has received widespread support it has had its share of critics.

On the other side of the fence is what can be called the “social rehabilitation” approach that has recently been broached by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee. That approach tends to see crime as caused by societal ills and seeks to deal with crime by remedying these ills through social programmes. Proponents of this approach say that you can’t really deal with violent crime by suppression; you have to attack it at its root causes.
One would think that the best approach would be an approach that combines the two views, but in proportions that match the realities of our specific conditions. We cannot but cultivate the capacity of our police force to deal with the present and clear danger posed by gunmen and gangs that are so bold as to presume that they can take on not only innocent citizens but also the entire state apparatus.
At the same time we need to have programs to prevent our youths from going down the outlaw trail either before or after they commit a crime. The key distinction that we would like to make in the debate between the two opposing positions is that in Guyana, the police do not have to become bogged down in the “social rehabilitation” efforts.
The police are already spread too thin, with the majority of officers tied down to desks performing what are essentially clerical tasks. We have a Ministry of Social Affairs that is far better equipped to take on the role of social rehabilitation and we ought to put policies and legislation in train so that this can be accomplished.

We would like to stress that in our estimation the police should step up their efforts to take on violent crime directly. If the endeavour is not taken to another level, even the social rehabilitation projects will wither and die on the vine caused by the climate of fear that pervades those havens of criminal activity.
It was once a shibboleth that poverty causes crime, but it should be clear by now that crime is causing poverty. Just look at Buxton and the surrounding villages. Businesses are driven from crime-ridden neighbourhoods, taking jobs and opportunities with them. Potential investors and would-be employers are scared away. Existing owners are deterred from making improvements on their property, and as property values go down, owners disinvest in their property.
On the crime fighting front, there has to be a change in strategy, the police have to use the rifle rather than the shotgun approach. Most organised violent crime is caused by a small core of hardened criminals, some receiving political encouragement.
These individuals must be targeted through better intelligence programmes and taken out one way or the other. Let the punishment fit the crime.

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