OVER the last two years the Police reported that serious crimes have reduced when compared with previous years. The Force boast of breaking up several criminal gangs, the virtual cessation of piracy on the open seas and solving of murders and other serious crimes at record pace. There were arrests and prosecution of masterminds behind bicycle robbery gang, CG motorcycle crew and carjacking ring, among others.

Several rouge officers are either before the courts, behind bars or have been dismissed. Those in charge of both policy and operational matters should be commended. The Police Force is said to be enjoying increasing public confidence and it will do well to consolidate these gains.

Discussions on crime and safety is very much like the weather. Along with the daily temperature (more often than not) there is a differing value called “the real feel.” Even though the actual temperature may be 30?C, the real feel may be given as 35?C; this may be due to other factors such as wind and humidity. There is official crime statistics on one hand and public perception of crimes on the other. Social media, opinion columns, editorials and hard news reporting seem to indicate that “the real feel” on crime is higher than the statistics indicate. The public ‘perception barometer’ can be a rather potent tool that may be difficult to overcome with official statistics.

There are several factors driving public perception, chief among them are:- the relationship between the press and the police seem to be cozier than it was in the past; more unauthorized police “sources close to the investigation” are willing to release unofficial reports under anonymity; the media seem to have direct live channels in interrogating rooms; the Force’s PR department is busier and much more responsive than in times gone by; there has been an exponential increase in the number of journalists and a corresponding increase in the number of news outfits and newscasts; the growth in online news outfits and social media reporting is innumerable; it seems as though every reporter has a live blog.

The growing number of journalists and quasi-reporters, coupled with access to social media, have substantially lowered the bar of responsible reporting. Verification of facts seems not to be kosher these days; the operative thing is to be the first to publish the story on a newsfeed or simply to get in on the act. It is almost as if every person who has heard about a criminal act shares it to social media; crime is in our face all the time.
The current generation of media consumers crave sensational and salacious news.

Crime is an easy whipping boy for sensationalism. Various types and aspects of crime and crime reporting have all the hallmarks of heart throbbing and high intensity dramatics of an A-list Hollywood action film, it is attention-grabbing and can sustain the suspense of speculation.

We should not be unmindful that many media outfits are driven by an ignominious political agenda which is manifested in their crime reporting. News outfits regularly skew their reports in unethical fashions to attempt to embarrass the government or to propagate a certain ethnic narrative for the chief purpose of perpetuating political distrust and maintain a stranglehold on captive demographic enclaves.

Police statistics suggest that there is a short-term spike in sporadic armed robberies. Though there are several responsible factors, a major influence can be attributed to police success in breaking up gangs and crime rings. Whenever police penetrate criminal gangs they often disperse into smaller cells or lonewolf enterprises, often lacking leadership and coordination. They tend to be less discriminating about their intended targets and pursue pettier avenues, as such, greater number of occurrences are not unexpected.

The policy and operational response will determine whether this trend is sustained. The Force is in urgent need of a mop up operation. Perhaps more boots in the streets, more patrols, more undercover operatives and paid informants.

There is need to create a manpower and physical grid of private security services, develop SOPs and conduct joint training exercises (especially with the better equipped services) to support policemen by responding to crimes in progress, especially in circumstances of police manpower shortfall. A critical component of any successful crime suppression and eradication program is public participation (and public education), a greater number of active policing groups and neighbourhood lookout may be needed.

The business community should be an integral part of crime fighting. The Private Sector Commission and the various Chambers of Commerce should devise a plan to outfit all of their members with CCTV cameras. A key component should be to create (as far as is practicable) a seamless street-view, in that the cameras of all businesses give coverage to the street in such a way that it creates a continuous flow.

If a person commits a crime anywhere in a business district, the entire sequence of movements can be followed from the combined street-view footage. To facilitate this, the government may wish to consider the removal of import duties on CCTV and associated equipment or grant a tax refund to all entities participating in the program.