Crime fighting should be a threefold process

Aug 24, 2015 Editorial

With the prevailing high level of crime, especially armed robberies and murders, it appears that the people are suffering from a kind of trauma and are dumbfounded and emotional. Another senseless murder in Guyana by armed bandits is one too many.
The brutal murder of Pamela Kendall at No. 45 Village on the Corentyne last Thursday August 21, 2015 has sent shockwaves throughout the country. It has triggered national outrage and pushed the country’s homicide rate to 100 for the year. Pamela Kendall should not have died at the hands of bandits if there were plans in place to stem the crime rate.
But they are none so far and the people are told that they have to wait while at the same time, their lives are snuffed out of their bodies. Pamela Kendall was robbed of the most precious gift that everyone possesses—life.
Her death has devastated her relatives and friends and will haunt them forever. For months, Berbicians have been begging the powers that be for help to save them from the armed bandits but there has been no positive response. There can be no doubt that the current spate of gun crimes has a significant portion of the population on edge.
Many law abiding citizens are scared for their own safety and that of their families and friends. They are critical of the government. Yet, despite this fear of being robbed or killed by armed bandits, so far, nothing much has been done to stem the spike in criminal activities and murders.
Murdering someone in Guyana has become a very simple act, a lifestyle, and has become embedded in our culture, and there is no end in sight. Home invasions by armed thugs for the purpose of carrying out robbery, leaves every household with worth, vulnerable. In fact, one does not even have to have worth anymore, he/she just has to appear that way to become a victim. The question is: How many more have to die before action is taken to diffuse the present spate of gun violence and murders in the country.
The tragic end to the lives of Pamela Kendall and the 77 year old grandmother from Montrose, Carmen Ganesh and many other hard-working and law-abiding citizens have reached a level of callousness and recklessness that is uncharacteristic of the armed bandits.
The people are numbed by the spate of vicious murders and have grown tired of the platitudes; they need urgent action. But calling on the newly elected government or the Minister of Public Security to resign or using violent protests in the streets will not deter the bandits or save lives.
Reducing crime, particularly murders and armed robberies was neither an easy task for the former administration nor will it be for the newly elected APNU+AFC government.
Crime will never be eradicated, and there will always be spikes of lawless behaviour, but the effort to address them at the root must never wane.
Having a fence with barb wires at the top, security alarm system, German Shepherd dogs and security personnel, iron bars at doors and windows and constant vigilance can reduce the chances of being robbed; but all of that is useless or of little importance when people venture onto the streets and come face to face with the criminals.
Guyanese from coast to coast must react with a sense of purpose or stridency to show the criminals that the entire country is prepared to stand against them and that their violent crimes would not be accepted or be allowed to go unpunished.
Crimes and murders are being committed not because the police or the government has failed to act, rather it is the collective failure of the people to behave as responsible adults that is breeding a generation of criminals and trigger-happy youths.
Imperfect as the Police Force is, it is what stands between the gunmen and anarchy in society. So blaming the police or the government or the Minister of Public Security will not silence a single gun or reduce crimes and murders. The truth is crime fighting should be a threefold process—it lies with the police, the government and the people whose civic duty is to exert their influence as parents and guardians over their children and share information with the police.
This will send a powerful message to the bandits that they will not sit back and allow a few hoodlums to destroy their communities.

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Crime fighting should be a threefold process

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