Knee jerk reaction to crime

THE EDITOR: It is extremely telling when captains of industry and the citizenry hail the setting up of a “Crime Fighting Unit” by the Government instead of seeing it for what it is.  A knee jerk reaction to the very real fears of Trinidad and Tobago.  One wonders just how serious politicans are about the ills of society and the causes of crime.  First, what is the job of the police force?  police as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, “a civil force responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.”  Are we to suppose that the majority of the police force is then employed in maintaining public order by locking up protestors and so have no time to detect crime?

While you will get no argument from me or most of the citizenry that crime is a serious problem and something needs to be done sooner than later.  Maybe instead of setting up crime fighting units the police should be empowered to do their jobs.  Moreover, the cash that is going to be spent on the special unit might be better employed in addressing some of the causes of crime.  Just a thought.

NATASHA RAMNAUTH
Port-of-Spain