Dear Mr. Editor,

CRIME is a permanent social phenomenon. Like other unethical acts such as murder, robbery, and even prostitution, criminals are finding ways to trick the system. As anti-crime mechanisms block the path of criminal propensities and preponderances, criminal and concomitant crime may evolve. And, just like that, the vicious cycle of violence, be it white or blue collar, perpetuates.

The consequence is that innocent hardworking people (children, pensioners, businesspeople, and the average man on the street) are easy targets. At times, not just their valuables but their lives are stripped away. In the case of home invasions, families are humiliated by having a wife raped in front of her husband and children; their daughters raped in front of their parents. Recently, on West Coast Berbice, two 16-year-old girls were most viciously raped by criminals who were disguised as protesters during the latest tensions that escalated after the death of Isaiah and Joel Henry. Sadly, these incidences were applauded by certain politicians.

When I see young people involved in violence, considering the many opportunities that exist in our country, it really hurts my heart. As such, I pen this missive to focus on young offenders on motorcycles and bicycles that prey on the most vulnerable in society. Recently, I wrote two letters in the media: “We are losing our youths Parts 1 and 2”, in which reference was made of the fact that many of our young people are dying from motorcycle and other accidents. And, many of them are caught up in crimes which lead to their death at the hands of the police or by the reaction of citizens. Additionally, many end up in prison, and in this way we continue to lose a valuable component of our population.
I do not have the empirical numbers at hand here, but I think that eighty per cent of our inmates are young people. It is unfortunate that we have no mechanism, such as boot camps, to try to rehabilitate and motivate these young people to become active members of our communities.

I know that our police commissioner, and administrative heads of police departments such as the Criminal Investigation Department are all brilliant and wise people with experience; they must have thought about what I am about to say. If by chance they were exhausted by the recent political madness that we have encountered, it is my hope that they would now try to read and listen to me, and concentrate their attention on these matters that I am deliberating on.

Recently, I saw an incident in which a police officer was mugged and beaten on the road, and another was robbed of his bicycle. Yet another was also robbed of his motorcycle. Many male and female police have been mugged on the roads. This is complete nonsense, if you were to ask me, that our Guyanese youths who have turned offenders do not even value the uniform of a police personality. Failure to honour the uniform of a police officer is one of the worst examples of lewd conduct that people may have. The lack of respect on the part of the police itself reveals decadence in the mental behaviour of people stealing or inflicting blows on the police. As far as this is concerned, I am of the view that a fund needs to be set up to provide incentives or benefits for people who carry information to the police. As for people who are uncomfortable going to the police, they could approach individuals identified by the police as a liaison to the police in different communities. They may be offered a stipend or a grant of some kind.

Respected Commissioner of Police, Crime Chief, and the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, I wish to also highlight an important issue. This issue being that there is a gang of motorcycle offenders working day and night in rotational shifts. These criminal elements seem to have their own zones of activity. To my understanding, the different teams seem to be interconnected, particularly at nights, and they will target a motorcar driver or a motorcyclist. In general, several of these victims are security supervisors. The bandits normally call on their colleagues in various zones to block the driver, or to circle the security supervisor, the police, or the driver. In recent times, I have had cases where two supervisors have been assaulted and have lost their motorcycles. Thank God, their lives were spared. It is not easy to be knocked off a motorcycle; not only does it cause injury, but also psychological distress and fear in the minds of these victims. And lo and behold, even police officers are now being targeted.

I am of the view that in order to assist in catching these young, seemingly good-looking, well-dressed robbers is to have undercover cars make regular patrols in the cit; marked police cars or volunteer citizens’ vehicles, and/or volunteer security services patrolling with the police to stop and search. Most of these groups are armed with guns, so the police must treat them with great caution. They should be approached in a way that does not give them a chance to reach for a weapon, but done in the American way: Arrested, handcuffed, and then checked. The police must use the excellent training given to them by the police training and training schools that continues to evolve in terms of the needs of the country.
I know some bleeding-heart liberals are going to object to this, but I doubt they would object if they were brutalised, beaten, robbed of their belongings, and if their wives or girlfriends were to be raped and humiliated. So, bleeding-heart liberals, please keep silent. I am not going to use the words of former Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, but I am going to say, “Haul yourselves in a corner and shush.”

When taxi drivers and citizens travel around in their cars or in any mode of transport, they should be encouraged to keep emergency numbers on their phones. If their phones are stolen, then write them on a piece of paper or a book to call in and report these groups or gangs who are loitering in areas looking for an opportunity to pounce upon innocent and hard-working people. Sometimes I wonder why would people dwell in strategic corners on motorcycles late at night when there is no party or event taking place? They are obviously looking to target innocent, hard-working, decent Guyanese going to work and coming from work, be it security personnel, police personnel or citizens of the nation.

The other major concern that tears my heart out is violence against children and the elderly. Old mature people earning their bits of pension are pursued and deprived of their pittance as they collect from the post office, or having been targeted as they enter their homes. When they reach their homes, young offenders on bicycles and on foot stop and rob them. It has been observed that recently, women going to shop and going to work are being stopped on the road, and at times knocked down viciously and robbed of their cell phones, bags and valuables. As you may recall, dear citizens of Guyana, recently in the Bourda, Georgetown area, two older women in a home were raped, murdered, and items stolen by youths who have been identified and are now facing the courts. This lack of human dignity and humanity hurts my heart.

One has to ask, what is going on with our country?  Are we losing our souls? Recently, I saw an old man crossing a bridge, and when he crossed the bridge, two opportunistic young offenders passed by, held up the poor old man, limping with a stick in his hands and his back bent, and forced themselves into his bag, taking away all his valuables and bits of change. That money may have been his dinner or his food for a month. What saddens me is to realise that these old people have served throughout their youth, and have contributed to our country. I think that our old people deserve credit, care and love. They were expected to help him by taking something out of their pockets and offering it to him.

We also see these young offenders targeting the poor, most of whom have mental problems and are sleeping on the streets. Many of these people are frequently abandoned by their children. Many of them, because of domestic problems, resort to drugs and alcohol and decimate their lives. They are known for begging for food and change. Many dishonest employers, some in certain security services and a particular one that changed its name after being forced by the GRA to shut down, is renowned for these kinds of behaviour of denying people who work for them their NIS protection.

These young people need to be put in their place by instilling some fear into their hearts. This could be done by detaining them, frightening them, and, most of all, by using the first concept in the prevention of crime, which is prevention. Regular patrols, delaying, detaining, and calling them into question with fair suspicion so that they would be afraid to leave their homes and stay at home with their friends, and eventually learn how to make a good living could also be integrated.

Criminality of young people on bicycles and motorcycles is, in my view, a significant form of criminal offence. There are several cases in Georgetown where tourists have been robbed by the seawall, or while walking on the streets of Georgetown by bicycle bandits. They were savagely robbed of their money while trying to help our country and our economy; robbed of wedding rings, valuable documents, and laptops. Where this is concerned, we ought to have special laws in place for anyone who robs a tourist, whereby the punishment will be tripled immediately.

I wish to use this opportunity, as I did before, to call on the government to realise that we need to create a three-strike law. By this I mean, anyone who commits a crime three times in their lifetime, particularly in armed robberies, they should be made to spend the rest of their lives in jail, doing hard labour. We do not have this system in Guyana, but we should learn from Trinidad, whereby inmates, for the rest of their lives work to contribute to the well-being of their victims and by also paying for their own security, nourishment, and hotel fees.
At this juncture, I wish to state that I offer myself as a volunteer to create this group, board, or committee, managed by the police or the Home affairs Ministry to help our country prepare this plan so that we may save our youths and protect our nation.

Sincerely,
Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan Snr.