Criminal activity unbounded

One cannot help but cringe at the increasingly brutal and horrific nature of most of the crimes committed with apparent impunity. It also seems obvious that the authorities, both at the level of the security agencies and the political directorate, are clueless as to how to stem the tide of such boundless lawlessness.

Recurring statements of concern by business organisations and the periodic localised marches by some members of the public may be psychologically comforting as protest activity but are, in fact, expressions of impotence.

So too is the action of the embattled Ag Commissioner of Police in terminating the appointment of two senior police officers in seeking to signal to a population weary of antics that he is serious and proactive.

Other jurisdictions have taken purposeful action to curb crime and have succeeded. What then are the reasons for our glaring failure? The other issue I want to emphasise is the total lack of urgency in engaging in resolute and effective action to confront any critical problem, whether in the political, social or economic spheres. It may be reflective of the general apathy which pervades the society and the accompanying laissez-faire political environment where there is neither acceptance of responsibility nor observance of accountability.

I have argued many times previously that a multipronged and multidiscipline policy is required to deal effectively with crime both in the short term and in the longer term.

In the short term, the first line of defence for a society under siege is the responsiveness, effectiveness and reliability of the Police Service. Given the crime situation over the years, the Police Service has signally failed to display the required competence, determination and professionalism to contain criminal activity and to provide a sense of comfort to the population.

Eleven years ago, I wrote a column titled “Urgency of police reform” in which I argued that one of the pressing national priorities was the devising and implementation of a programme of police reform in order to convert the Police Service into an effective crime prevention, crime detection and crime prosecution unit.

Eleven years have gone by and yet there appears to be little urgency in this regard. Many of the issues I raised then are still relevant today.

I will quote extensively from that column of 22/01/06. I said: “There are few matters, if any, of greater urgency than making the operation of the Police Service effective and efficient. Most of the previous recommendations have been quietly ignored.

“At present we have an American professor unobtrusively engaged in a lucrative consultation. It would be interesting to know what his recommendations are and how different are they from those previously submitted to the Government. The problem seems to be the will to act decisively.

“We all know that, despite the lackadaisical performance of many of its members, there is great resistance, even hostility, to any proposal for change in the Police Service including sabotage of efforts previously undertaken.

“Even now, senior members of the service are opposing the requirement to write an examination to test their suitability for promotion. We will recall that just recently police officers were vehemently antagonistic to the suggestion that they should submit to a lie detector test.

“It is now left to the general public to demand that police reform be placed at the top of the political agenda and in the absence of a Police Management Authority.” I myself am no expert in these ma t t e r s but have my views on desired changes to the status quo.

To be continued