Crime and the killing of Faynel Brewster

Oct 28, 2025 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – There would be few citizens who would not agree and rather fervently at that – that crime is the number one concern in Guyana today. It even surpasses worries about skyrocketing food prices and the rising cost-of-living. The murder of 24-year-old Faynel Brewster in West Ruimveldt, gunned down by biker bandits outside her home, and the recent killing of a policeman by a businessman, a man sworn to protect, cut down by one he should have been safe among, has again forced this reality into sharp focus.

In every public discussion on how to confront this scourge, there are usually two opposing camps. The first is the “tough-on-crime” approach, which insists that criminals must be dealt with through forceful policing, tougher laws, and longer prison sentences. The logic here is simple: crime exists because of criminals, and the only way to curb it is to remove them from society.

The second camp advocates what might be called the “social rehabilitation” approach. It sees crime as the product of deeper social ills: poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, and hopelessness. Proponents argue that crime cannot truly be defeated through suppression alone; it must be uprooted by addressing its systemic causes.

Surely, the sensible position lies somewhere between these extremes. We must agree that a forceful response to the escalating and deeply entrenched crime wave is necessary even as we invest in breaking the generational pipeline that feeds young men into gangs and banditry. Yet, in the communities where crime has taken root and become a culture, it is painfully difficult for even well-meaning social programmes to take hold. When a neighbourhood normalises lawlessness, the values of the wider society are mocked. Sports clubs, libraries, youth centres, and community drama groups, the very outlets that could steer young people away from violence wither from disuse. Efforts to fix the social problems are strangled by the very criminal culture they are meant to cure. It was once almost an article of faith that poverty causes crime. Today, we must face the hard truth that crime is causing poverty. So, what is to be done?

It is easy to shout for more police, more vehicles, and more weapons. We have heard for years the duelling statistics, one side claiming the Force is underfunded, the other boasting about record spending on law enforcement. But crime has never been reduced by throwing money at it. Yes, the Guyana Police Force today has more resources than at any time in recent memory better vehicles, improved forensics, trained intelligence units, even air support. Yet, the strategy remains the missing piece.

The evidence, here and abroad, is clear: a small, hardened group of habitual offenders commits the majority of violent crimes. These are the chronic offenders incorrigible and fearless, who leave a trail of pain and grief in their wake. To make a real dent in violent crime, intelligence-led policing must target, identify, and remove this core group from our streets.

At the same time, the law must apply equally to all, whether the trigger is pulled by a bandit on a motorbike or a businessman with friends in high places. The killing of a policeman by a man of means has shaken public confidence in the rule of law. Justice delayed or denied in such cases will only embolden others and deepen cynicism among citizens who already feel unsafe and unprotected.

We cannot build a safe Guyana on fear, nor can we reform it through slogans and photo opportunities.

What we need is a dual commitment: firm, intelligence-driven enforcement to neutralize violent offenders, and sustained investment in education, mentorship, and opportunity to ensure fewer young men ever join their ranks. Until we treat crime not as an abstract statistics but as a national emergency strangling development, driving away investment, and destroying families like Faynel Brewster’s, we will continue to mourn, to protest, and to live behind iron grills while the criminals roam free.

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