TACKLING interpersonal violence is an issue which the police alone cannot handle, because it requires assistance from community policing groups (CPGs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which include faith-based organisations and civil society.

This was the opinion expressed by General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Mr Clement Rohee, at that party’s most recent weekly press conference, at which concerns were expressed at the high incidence of murder over the last week.

Rohee said: “As far as the PPP is concerned, we are not pleased with the high rates of murders; I think it was six murders over the holiday period.”

Rohee said that most of those murders resulted from “disorderly matters”, and he classified them as murders of passion or murders arising from domestic violence issues.

“They weren’t murders as a result of the crime committed with the use of a firearm or something to that effect,” he explained, adding that these were murders of passion related to domestic violence or disorderly conduct.

“Obviously, I want to suspect that most of them were committed at one event or the other, which had to do with circumstances which we know about – domestically related, alcohol-related and so forth. It goes to show the extent to which these questions of interpersonal violence continue to take the headline of the media,” Rohee said.

He contended that efforts need to be concentrated in managing the social ills that trigger these murders, in order to reduce their incidences. “So I would say it’s not a situation to be happy with from an interpersonal violence point of view,” he surmised as he noted that “it simply means much more has to be done.”

Rohee is also of the belief that the police alone cannot tackle the issue. “The police need the help of the neighbourhood police, the community police, and the other non-governmental organisations such as the faith-based organisations. All need to be working together to address this matter,” he advised.

(Ravin Singh)