IN the last three years or so, since the APNU+AFC coalition was elected, there has been a steady decrease in crime due to a government initiative and the police adopting a more intelligence-led approach to crime fighting.

However, as is the case in territories worldwide, crime will always be present in Guyana. And, as is expected, law-abiding citizens react to crime with disgust, annoyance and anger. In some instances, a crime may be considered so monstrous and evil that the people’s anger simply boils over, or a particular community may be plagued by criminals with such frequency that residents just can’t take any more. In many instances, residents may resort to taking the law into their own hands; they may organise themselves to hunt criminals, and sometimes the criminals may be caught. Or, residents may catch someone in the act of committing a crime. If that happens, citizens may decide to mete out justice for themselves, and suspected criminals may be beaten or even killed. The act of people taking the law into their own hands and dispensing justice without legal authority is called vigilantism. And although many persons may believe that vigilantism is justified, it is, in fact, not only against the law, but also morally and ethically wrong.

One of Guyana’s most infamous acts of vigilantism occurred in May 2013 when 40- year-old Nigel Lowe was tied to a pole and beaten to death by residents. The horrific incident occurred after a series of robberies in ‘A’ Field, Sophia. Residents had allegedly caught Lowe and two other men breaking into a house. The two other men escaped, but Lowe was cornered in an outdoor latrine. He tried to get away, but the residents surrounded him and started beating him. He ended up in a nearby house, but residents pursued him and continued the assault. The badly injured Lowe was then taken to ‘B’ Field Sophia, where the beating continued. Finally, Lowe’s lifeless body was tied to a pole and covered with pieces of wood as though residents had intended to burn the body. Some 30 persons were involved in the attack.

In August 2016, police revealed that 21- year-old Seon Clarke of Old Road, Land of Canaan, East bank Demerara, was killed in Pearl Village on a Saturday night after residents suspected him of being a bandit. A friend of his was severely injured after he, too, was beaten by the group.

In another instance, a suspected bandit was captured by persons in the area after a failed robbery attempt at East Canje. The  alleged bandit, who was said to be armed with a knife, entered Chung’s Grocery at Betsy Ground, East Canje in the morning hours in May 2017. He reportedly attempted to rob the businessplace. However, he was captured, subdued, tied up, and beaten by residents before being taken into custody by police, who responded to the commotion. Those examples are but a small sample of the incidents of vigilantism that take place with unacceptable frequency.

From an emotional point of view, acts of vigilantism are understandable; it is human nature to want justice. Further, persons have advanced arguments in an attempt to justify the practice. Some of those arguments may appear to be quite convincing. Some defenders have said that if the government does not or cannot protect citizens from crime, the citizens have to protect themselves. Some people say that anyone can dispense justice if the government does not do it. However, such assertions are fundamentally wrong, at least in the context of Guyana.

Firstly, the current APNU+AFC administration, through law enforcement agencies and the courts, is fully capable of enforcing the law, including protecting citizens. In fact, President Granger has emphasised that security is one of the preconditions of the ‘good life’ that government is committed to delivering to all Guyanese. The president has said, too, that crime will not be tolerated. The fact that crimes are on the decline is ample evidence of this fact. According to the Guyana Police Force, there has been a 19 per cent decrease in serious crimes at the end of January, 2018, relative to the same period in the preceding year. There was a 13 per cent decrease in robberies, where no instruments were used; a 50 per cent decrease in robbery-under-arms, where instruments other than firearms were used; a 50 per cent decrease in robbery with aggravation; a 50 per cent decrease in larceny from the person; a 24 per cent decrease in rapes; a 52 per cent decrease in burglaries; and a 9 per cent decrease in break-and-enter and larceny.

Secondly, harming or killing a suspect is not justice; it is, instead, just another crime. Justice, the experts tell us, includes due process that is rooted in the law, therefore, summarily punishing someone without due process by law amounts to committing another crime and calling it justice. The adage, ‘two wrongs do not make a right’ is correct.

President David Granger has made his position clear. His Excellency said, “Not only is [vigilantism] unacceptable, but it can lead to serious problems in society.” The president elaborated, “We can’t tolerate that. We accept that citizens have a right to protect their properties and so on, but we expect people to be organised in Community Policing Groups; we can’t tolerate vigilantism, especially when it results in the injury or death of anybody; it can get out of hand.”

While it is understood that persons would naturally be angry with suspects, it must be emphasised that those suspects are just that; they are suspects until they have been convicted in a court of law. Everyone, without exception, is entitled to due process. And no one has the right to deprive another person, under any circumstance, of that process. That being the case, citizens should do the right thing: If a suspect is captured, he or she should be handed over to the police. The fact that we all want to live in a country where the rule of law is paramount must be kept in mind. And, if we break the law to enforce the law, we would be contributing to the problem instead of helping to solve it.