WE have been once again rocked by several killings/robberies as within the space of a few hours there have been one botched robbery and three killings with the latest committed at Meten-Meer-Zorg on the West Coast of Demrara.

Young entrepreneur Zulficar Namdar, 27, also known as Vicky Namdar, in the prime of his life, was shot dead when two gunmen invaded his home and businessplace.
CIOG Director Feroze Mohamed said that he was very saddened at the devastation of a family which have served their community, and by extension, the country, in a generous manner, mostly looking out for the poor and vulnerable.
He also said that the crime situation in the country is escalating and there seems to be no solution to stopping it. He called on the Guyana Police Force to increase its vigilance, especially in the vulnerable areas and communities.
The sentiments expressed by Mr. Mohamed are certainly shared by most Guyanese as there seems to be no end to violent crimes in our country and of course this is giving our country a bad image and causing untold suffering and pain to the family and relatives of deceased victims of criminality.
If this alarming trend continues unabated, it could have severe, adverse consequences on the development process which has spurred impressive achievements in every sector in recent years.
While there is no hard evidence, the current trend of violent crimes certainly raises the spectre of whether they are being centrally directed and they have more than criminal objectives. One of the factors in this criminal scenario that points in the direction of a centrally directed operation is the fact that many persons from the security forces have criminal connections.
In the past, we have had situations where crime and terror were centrally directed against a certain section of our population and if the infamous X-12 plan had not been unearthed by the security forces, then our country would have ended worse than Rwanda
And if it is found that these violent crimes are centrally directed, then that would be indeed a frightening revelation and no effort must be spared to smash such an operation and those involved be swiftly brought to justice.
However, violent crimes are not only a feature of the Guyanese society many other countries have a similar problem.
According to an AP report, Jamaica’s national security minister says a worrying spike in violent crime is threatening the steady progress made in reducing the island’s high homicide rate.
Peter Bunting told lawmakers Tuesday that there were 251 homicides between June 30 and Aug. 31. That’s an average of four a day for the Caribbean island of 2.7 million people, compared to an average of 2.9 a day during the first half of the year.
Bunting says there were 197 homicides during the same two-month period last year. He says the rise “is threatening the gains which have been made over the last three years.”
In 2009, Jamaica had the world’s third highest homicide rate, at 63 per 100,000 people. By last year, the rate had fallen to roughly 40 per 100,000.
According to a US State Department Report, violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago is a concern for the local security services and the general population. The 2012 murder rate was 37.9 per 100,000 people. There were 379 murders in 2012, 354 murders in 2011, 480 murders in 2010, 508 murders in 2009, 550 (record high) murders in 2008, and 391 in 2007 out of a population of approximately 1.3 million people resident on both islands (approx 1.25 mil in Trinidad and just over 50k in Tobago). The murder rate continues to be driven primarily by gang and drug-related activities. Crimes related to economic gain, sexual assault, and domestic violence continue to plague the country.
But we cannot take comfort in the fact that violent crimes are also very prevalent in other countries. We have to make every effort to bring it down to a minimal level.
Sometimes our security forces are justifiably criticised for not doing enough to stem criminal activities, but at the same time we must acknowledge and understand that the magnitude and complexity of the crime world are daunting. Fighting crime today is not what it was a few decades ago.
Therefore, combating crime must not be only the job of the security forces who risk their lives and limbs on a daily basis, but also that of every citizen.