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The gangs should have been disbanded by now

Oct 07, 2010 Editorial

Just when the people of Georgetown began to believe that it was safe to venture outside they are having second thoughts. Gunfire erupts suddenly in places where shootings are not commonplace. The suggestion is that nowhere is exempt from attacks by the gunmen.
Two Christmases ago, the police reported that they were beginning to get a grip on crime. The government also wanted to see an end to violent crimes in the city and its environs because the situation was beginning to have an impact on not only the image of the country, but also on its economic fortunes.
For example, investors were beginning to have second thoughts. It did not help when countries began to issue media advisories warning visitors to Guyana to be on the alert and to always avoid certain areas. Indeed, people have choices so the investors are choosing to seek other locations where the conditions are less volatile.
In addition to media advisories about Guyana, Guyanese in the Diaspora began to spread the word that Guyana was a most violent country. Some went as far as to announce to all who may listen that they were going to shelve any thought of visiting the homeland until they could be certain that they could rest easy.
Needless to say, the days when people slept with their windows open and doors not too securely bolted, and when they had fun loitering on their doorsteps long after dark, seem to be over. They firmly believe that they are safest in their homes. Also past are the days when women adorned themselves in fine jewellery and paraded for all to see without fear of being attacked.
Recognising the changing face of crime in the country, both the government and the police decided on new approaches. The government forked over huge sums of money to the police so that they could become more mobile. And more mobile did they become.  They were also better armed. Millions of dollars went into this area. But this seems to provide no answer to the gunmen who now patrol the streets with virtual impunity.
To their credit, the police have done remarkably well. They have recovered many weapons, not least among them two AK-47s stolen from the Guyana Defence Force a few years ago. They stop cars and find illegal small arms and just last weekend, they raided a Kitty house and found even more guns. But they seem incapable of halting the parade of the executioners. These are people who drive around the city in search of prey and using high-powered weapons, they pounce and the police are nowhere.
Some actually believe that elements of the police may be involved. It has not escaped notice that with very few exceptions, all of those killed have had a chequered past. Some were out-and-out criminals who themselves might have killed other human beings. But the fact remains that a killer squad is once more roaming the land. Perhaps a vendetta of sorts is underway.
There was a time when the view was that people were dying because of a war over drug territory. The strongest won, but for the most part such killings occurred in locations known for drug use and drug marketing. The police now say that they had criminal information on five of the six men killed. They claim that these men were involved in nefarious dealings.
If the police had all this information, one must wonder what prevented them from mounting surveillances on a few, if not all of them. In any other part of the world this would have been the case. Sometimes it takes weeks to gather all the information that could lead to prosecution. Had the police been working, some of the executions that are becoming commonplace would have been averted. Surveillance would have also led to others similarly involved.
As if to add insult to injury, the police now say that they are stepping up a campaign against gangs. Do they know the gangs? Can they find any member? If the answer is in the affirmative, then the police need to be castigated. The gangs should have been disbanded by now.
But this is Guyana.

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