When will this crime spree end?

Nov 26, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The crime situation is not getting out of hand. It is already out of hand.
Bandits are on the rampage. They have the upper hand on crime.
The crime-fighting strategy of the government seems invisible. The government does not seem to have any crime-fighting strategy. The security forces seem lost and helpless. They are reacting to crime rather than preventing it.
A female security guard was recently shot during an attempted robbery done in broad daylight and almost in the centre of the city. The bandits are committing crime with impunity. They have no regard for anyone.
The police should be given some credit. They have been making arrests after the fact. The public would prefer if they can prevent the crimes and slow down their commission.
The arrests have however not slowed down criminal activity. The crimes have been intensifying. The actions of the police are not acting as a deterrent to crime.
The police have been making arrests. Persons have been confessing with regularity to crime, whereas in the past there would not have been any confessions. The public needs to be assured that this spate of confessions has been done without any force. When so many alleged criminals are confessing to crimes, it is a source of concern. It is not the norm.
A man is killed. Suddenly those implicated confess to murdering him. Are the bandits suddenly beginning to suffer from a bout of a troubled conscience? We shall have to await the outcome of the court trials to see how successful has been the charges laid and whether any allegations are made about inducements or use of force in extracting confession statements.
We were told just over a week ago that a major crime-fighting operation was underway. The public was warned not to be alarmed by the presence of aerial cover for the operation. The announcement gave the criminally-minded the opportunity not to be taken by surprise. A raid was done on the jail. The usual instruments were found. No guns were unearthed. No arrests have been made accusing persons in the prison of directing crime outside the prison walls.
No other joint services operation has since been announced. The public has been disappointed. They had expected that the security forces would have had a visible presence all over the country, and that raids and patrols would have been more visible.
The operations have not materialized. The criminals are still executing brazen robberies on citizens. Murders are still being committed. Nothing seems to have changed. Crime-fighting tactics seem to have reverted to the usual respond-after-the-fact.
The police force does not have enough personnel. A strategy to encourage more recruits should have long been put into action and the number of vacancies in the force should have been reduced.
Police morale needs to be boosted. A 10% increase in salaries is not going to boost the morale of the Guyana Police Force. Better should have been done. The Budget which will be read next week should offer a 100% increase in salaries to the ranks of the Guyana Police Force.
There are too many personnel in the Guyana Police Force who, instead of fighting crime, are involved in work unrelated to crime-fighting. We have been promised that the immigration function would be removed from under the police. These changes are moving too slowly. The legislation to make the immigration department independent of the Guyana Police Force is not yet before the National Assembly. The training of new persons to take over the immigration functions presently done by members of the police force has not yet started.
Instead, greater priority is being given to a pension Bill for a former Prime Minister. This should not have been a priority over security sector reform. The priorities of the government are lopsided.
Citizens are feeling helpless. They are hoping for the best. They are praying that they will not be the next victims of crime. They are asking about the crime-fighting plan of the government to ensure their security. They are being told to have more patience.
Will things get better? Or will they get worse?

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