Are terrorists living in Guyana?

Nov 05, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists

In the wake of horrific crimes like that robbery of the money changers on “America Street” on Tuesday, many in the new ruling political class continue to respond to this crime crisis with an approach that reflects a “TEST MATCH mentality rather than a T-20 one”.
We all know that there are no easy solutions. It has been almost six months since the new Minister of Public Security in the form of Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan was sworn in. Mr. Ramjattan portrays himself as tough on crime, but words are the wind when there are real victims involved.
The results are not good enough to conclude that the job is getting done; the fact remains it is not getting done!
The crime statistics from January – September 2015 show that there were 896 “reported” robberies under arms. There were 114 murders committed for the period January – September 2015; a 100 percent increase in execution styled murders compared to the same period in 2014. Mind you, in portions of 2015, there was an extended gun surrender amnesty. So what can we expect in November and December 2015 when there is no gun amnesty?
We know that the leadership of the new Government is committed to fighting this crime wave and they have said as much to the nation. It was in 2011 when as Presidential Candidate for the AFC, the current Minister responsible for Public Security said that his government will be the key to unlocking the nation “from the deadly crime that haunts and traumatizes” the nation. So he gets the problem!
However, where he and his team are failing is in policy actions. Over the last six months, most experts have concluded that at best the Police Force deserves a pass grade for hiking the crime solving rate. The results clearly show that the criminals are still on top of the situation and the Police Force appears as if they are clueless on what next to do. There is no Clement Rohee in the mix now who was accused of interfering with their motivation and systems. Who do we blame for the lack of action today on measures to attack the crime wave?
This crime wave requires a national approach with support from all institutions of the State. It is time for the Police, Army and the private security industry to form a National Crime Fighting Commission that will be tasked with training more people to become policemen. Only this week, one of our columnists Mr. Sase Singh highlighted the fact that the Police admitted that their training capacity was only 660 persons per year when there are some 1,018 potential recruits who have been cleared for training.
He recommended that we ask the GDF to support the training done by the Police so that we can have all 1,018 persons trained and in the force as soon as possible. This will go a far way in bolstering the capacity of the Police.
The sort of rhetoric coming out of the Ministry of Public Security suggests that they have the will, they have the words, but they do not have the action. It is time to seek professional security advice from agencies such as Scotland Yard and the FBI as soon as possible to allow this situation to advance progressively.
We cannot continue on this path. We expect the Minister will roll out some broad policies in line with the recommendations of the Discipline Forces Commission, the Symonds Group Report and the CARICOM Task Force on Crime & Security Report.
If the Police Force and the Policy Team at the Ministry cannot deliver on this portfolio within the next six months, then the buck will have to be passed up the ladder to the President’s desk since the buck always stops at that desk. Just ask former President Donald Ramotar.

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Are terrorists living in Guyana?

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