IMPROVED DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES WILL LEAD TO BETTER RESULTS IN CRIME-FIGHTING

Feb 06, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Armed robberies are on the increase. Since before the start of the new year, a number of armed robberies against businesses and homes have been taking place, and the police have not been able to bring an end to this wave.
Just a few days ago, there was one such robbery in East Canje. A petrol station in the city was also robbed. Persons relaxing on the Georgetown Seawall were also victims of armed robberies. There is a worrying trend to all of these crimes, and its sudden rise has raised questions about whether this spate of armed robberies, coming in an election year, is politically orchestrated or is simply as a result of the police letting their guard down.
So far the usual charges of political links have not yet surfaced and even if made will be meaningless, because it is the duty of the law enforcement agencies to bring an end to all forms of criminality, regardless of the origins, and to get to the bottom of these crimes. It is also the responsibility of the police, whenever there is a spike in a particular form of crime, to deploy the necessary resources to deal with that situation so that things can be normalized and crime reduced, particularly the incidence of armed robberies which have left persons dead.
The fact that successive armed robberies are taking place and in some instances persons have lost their lives, suggests clearly that the police are not on top of the situation. And it has to be asked as to why these armed robberies, one of which was committed on a foreigner who subsequently died, are not being treated as a national emergency.
The last time that there was a mini wave of crime against businesses in Guyana, action was prompt. Heavily armed ranks of the Guyana Police Force wearing thick woolen cardigans were deployed around the city to help guard against any such attacks. These ranks are still on patrol, as are other beat duty ranks and anti-crime ranks who constantly can be seen riding around on motor cycles.
However, these anti-crime ranks have a preoccupation with stopping motor vehicles to check on documentation. At a time when armed robberies are on the increase, many of these ranks can be often seen pulling over vehicles and requesting to see the particulars of licences and other papers relating to the vehicle.
Many of them seem to enjoy stopping vehicles which are being driven by females and questioning them.
Admittedly, every policeman has a right to stop someone if he or she suspects that a traffic offence is being committed. But within every organization there is a division of labour. There are traffic ranks whose primary duty is to deal with traffic matters; there are detectives who investigate homicides and other crimes. One does not expect a traffic rank to be investigating a murder. This responsibility is assigned to detectives, and when everyone does their duties and coordinates their actions, it leads to organizational effectiveness.
In the midst of a crime wave involving the use of weapons, one expects at the minimum that the police force would utilize its scarce resources in an effective way and would be demonstrating to the public that it is making efforts to reduce this high incidence of armed robberies. This is why it is necessary for there to be review commissions to examine issues such as these, because the misallocation of scare resources can lead to inefficiencies in the delivery of services. Close monitoring of resource allocation and crime-fighting effectiveness will serve as a disincentive towards sloth and inattention, and force the police to be more vigilant in executing their duties.
One also expects that the police would be demonstrating their seriousness about the situation facing the country at this time. A few nights ago, there was a shooting incident at Grove, East Bank Demerara, and the army was deployed to patrol. This shows there is recognition at the national level that the present incidence of armed robberies represents a threat to national security, and must be dealt with, so as to avoid an uncontrollable situation such as what we had in the past.
The police must begin to demonstrate their seriousness, because in an election year there are persons who are bound to take advantage of related tensions to cause disruptions and to profit at the expense of others. The recent high number of armed robberies represents a serious challenge for law enforcement, and must be met by a more concerted effort to capture those responsible for these terrifying crimes.
One of the ways in which progress is going to be made is for those who are deployed to fight these types of crimes to be engaged full-time in this activity, and not to be more concerned with stopping motor vehicles on the roadways to verify the authenticity of documents or to query whether permission for tints have been had. There are sufficient traffic ranks for this purpose.

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