What to do about Crime

Guyana Chronicle

IT is plain for all to see that crime continues to plague Guyana. When in Opposition, the now governing parties had blamed the then governing PPP. Now that the PPP is in Opposition, it is laying the blame squarely on the steps of the APNU+AFC Government. This is what political parties do – criticise and blame each other for the country’s shortcomings. But our parties must know by now that putting a dent in the crime situation needs more than political rhetoric. Innocent lives are being lost. People are being dispossessed of their earnings. Fear stalks the land. While high crime rates is a fact of life in most countries around the world, poor countries such as Guyana, lack the resources to tackle it in a consistent manner. Often, criminals have superior firepower than the Police. It is for that reason that prevention and deterrence are our best approach. Since coming to power less than two months ago, the new Government, through its Minister of Public Security, has made some small moves in the direction of arresting the crime situation. In addition, the President held a summit with his top security officials. But the Government needs to do more than that. Should the situation continue, the Government’s ability to effectively govern would be seriously undermined. It is tempting to instruct the police to adopt a shoot-on-sight approach. This has been tried before without much success. In any case, the human rights consequences of this approach are too costly. We know that there is a linkage between poverty, poor education, unemployment and crime. We know that corruption and crime go hand in hand. We know that the prevalence of the narco-underworld is a clear and present danger as far as crime is concerned. We know that a compromised Police Force is a crucial deterrent to crime fighting. We know that a preponderance of illegal guns on the streets is a root cause of the problem. We know that the growth of criminal gangs with connections to high places is a contributory factor in the inability of the State to combat crime. We know that the glorification of criminals as role models by sections of the society has compromised the wider society as an agent of crime fighting. We know that the increased lure of material wealth drives a lot of our young people in the direction of crime. We know that the existence of gunmen-for-hire has compounded the problem. We know that in our fragile ethnic reality, crime could assume an ugly ethnic face. We know that there is a relationship between crime and economic growth. We know that foreign and local investment do not flourish in a crime ridden environment. We know that tourists stay away from areas with high crime rate. We know that we can’t fight crime and beat back the Venezuelan threat at the same time. We know that fighting crime is a national undertaking that should cut across partisan lines. So what to do? The Government is unable to right all of those ills listed above in the near-term. Even if it is able to muster the necessary financial and technical resources, the situation is too deep-seated and complex to be turned around in short order. Yet things cannot be allowed to drift. Some drastic intervention is needed. Citizens who complain about the situation may have to be prepared to give up some liberties to ensure some modicum of order. And the Government has to be prepared to make some unpopular decisions. In the final analysis, either we beat crime or our country remains in the backwater of the civilised world.