THIS week’s flare-up of criminal activities and a rash of fatal accidents have undoubtedly unnerved many citizens who had been slowly getting some respite from the daily marauding across the country. After all, there was reason to feel a bit more comfortable with the police declaring early this month that there had been a 14% decrease in serious crimes and that public trust in the organisation has increased tremendously. The force pointed out that not only are they getting more tips, but they are getting more accurate information and overwhelming support from witnesses to process cases in a shorter space of time. The statistics for murder revealed a 5% decrease in the first quarter of the year, while incidents of robbery under arms have also dipped by 10%.As we have said in this column before, evidence has shown that crime has its genesis in the society and its growth and pattern need to be addressed not only through applying crime-solving methods, but also putting in place preventive measures, which takes on board a scientific approach in gathering and analysing data. It is within this context our approach to crime and crime-fighting can engender positive results and societal development. Receiving of tips and witnesses showing up for trials are all well and good, but what are we doing to prevent the kind of crime that occurred on the busy Regent Street on Tuesday- where a young businessman was accosted by bandits and shot dead or the setting alight of two elderly rice farmers in their home on the East Bank of Essequibo.
Crime speaks to a violation of the laws. Equally, crime cannot be fought by committing crime and this is why it becomes important to recognise that the upholding of laws is hinged on crime-fighting and development. When a nation accepts crime as destructive regardless of the socio-economic and political standing of the perpetrators and is prepared to treat all equally before the law, it creates the desire to put systems in place to address crime in a holistic manner.
One of the most effective tools of crime-fighting is using information/intelligence gathered from those accused in a scientific manner, not only in crime-solving but also to plan and project crime avoidance. And to this end it may be opportune for this nation to look at education programmes in criminology and appointment of criminologists, whose role it is focus on the study of crimes and their causes, effects, and social impact. In the 21st century, crime-fighting has become more sophisticated and holistic. It is not seen as separate from the society. It also requires an effective national development strategy which will tackle social ills such as poverty, hunger, education deficiency, unemployment and underemployment, respect for human life and the environment, graft and corruption, upholding of the rule of law, international conventions, charters and declarations.
And where efforts in tackling blue collar crime are seen as necessary only through military hardware, such ought to be reviewed. Evidence has shown that an approach of this nature in the absence of intervening factors such as human rights, employment/unemployment rate, school dropouts, recreational facilities and the incentive/attractiveness for the get-rich-quick syndrome which is built on criminality, never aid in addressing the cause. Also needed to be factored in is that blue collar crime will seem to be acceptable to perpetrators, where it is seen or felt the privileged and connected are allowed to engage in acts of criminal conduct with impunity.
Making crime-solving and avoidance/prevention part of a nation’s developmental strategy is possible when all are held to the same standards and play by the same rules. In this environment, it helps too to recognise modern-day crime-fighting techniques do not see killing as acceptable or first choice. And where death has occurred, the Coroner’s Act, Chapter 144, sets out procedures how this ought to be dealt with. For years, this law has been observed in the breach and only for a chosen few in spite it being universal. It is the equal responsibility of the alleged criminal, law-enforcer, privileged and connected, and the ordinary man and woman to abide by the law and be held accountable under the law. Effective and efficient crime-fighting are hinged on these stated factors and the nation has to work to ensure that these form part of the daily occurrence in the management of the state.