UNFORGIVABLE TO PLAY POLITICS WITH CRIME

I cannot imagine any person of sound mind who would be prepared to excuse or forgive any politician who “plays politics” with the safety and welfare of our people in these extremely dangerous and frightening times of criminal activity...Crime Bills before the House should not be unduly obstructed.

I know it may be difficult for politicians (because of the very nature of who they are) to keep politics out of certain matters in the running of our nation. Nevertheless, being able to do this, distinguishes the men from the boys in politics. It mirrors the difference between the responsible and the irresponsible.

It is in instances like these that the true heart and agenda of a politician is revealed. The quality of the behaviour exposes whether or not there is a genuine concern for the good of the people, or if the motives are ulterior. This is especially so in cases where matters affect a nation and its people in a particularly critical way. A case in point is our current crime situation. We understand the place of prayer, and all the sociological and psychological intricacies which are factored into the issue, for whatever reason. However, the perpetrators of crime primarily take their cue from the attitude of the law enforcement agencies, and the politicians whose decisions directly affect national security.

Say what you like, because of the political influence allowed by the system of our democracy, the standard of national security, health services, the economy or any other area of our nation’s operations, can be either raised or ruined by “political interference.” So the conduct of politicians in this respect must be closely monitored by the people whom they are elected to represent. This column has on occasions, in the recent past, addressed the major role politicians play in this context. The last piece which appeared on 11/01/03 carried the caption “Crime Much Too Serious For Games, Mr PM.” Among other things, that article criticised Prime Minister Patrick Manning for retaining Mr Howard Chin Lee as Minister of National Security, while he continued to insist that the Minister was “doing a great job” despite the fact that everything was going downhill faster than the speed of light. I had also predicted that if Mr Manning and his authorities responsible for national security did not radically alter their leadership / management style and attitude, the crime situation would grow increasingly worse — something we now witness. But we must give Jack his jacket and treat with each issue based upon its merits.

While the Manning administration certainly appears to be bungling badly in the day-to-day handling of crime, its anti-crime initiatives in terms of the Bills before the House must be commended. Whatever the “technicalities” involved in Government-Opposition debate over the Bill, we need to appreciate an initiative of this kind and do all in our power to ensure that there is no unnecessary obstruction to the process. Aspects of the law, as they now stand, are making a laughing stock of areas of our law enforcement system — the kidnapping item perhaps being the worst. For any politician to play games in such an extremely serious (indeed, life-and-death) scenario, would be a crime worse than all of those being perpetrated by the criminals whom we are battling at present.

When a Bill (as obtains in the present case) comes before the House, it actually removes the responsibility for the management of the relevant problem from upon the shoulders of the Government alone. The Opposition now becomes directly responsible, along with the Government. If anything hinders the passage of such a Bill, the resultant sufferings brought upon the nation will be a serious indictment against the party responsible for the Bill’s failure. I can’t imagine any human being of sound mind, at this point in our nation, who would be prepared to excuse or forgive any politician (Govt or Opposition) who “plays politics” with the safety and welfare of our people in these extremely dangerous and frightening times of unprecedentedly bold and vicious criminal activity. May I caution though, that we must not think that the absence of the legislation being sought by the anti-crime Bills, is responsible for the bulk of our present crime problem.

It is clear that, in many ways, we currently have what it takes to quite effectively handle our crime situation and compel the criminal elements to respect the law. The near-ideal example is the virtual crime-free Carnival of this year. If there is any atmosphere that poses the toughest challenge to national security /protective services it’s TT Carnival. If this could be handled impeccably, then we simply don’t have any big problem.

Why we haven’t seen the continuity of the Carnival effectiveness, remains a costly mystery. I’ll hate to think that the powers that be, value and revere Carnival so highly that they believe this festival deserves the best of the country’s protective capabilities, and that the bandits are therefore free to enjoy open season in the non-Carnival periods of the year. Or is it that the foreigners who visit for Carnival deserve the “real security”, while locals “are not that important”? Let’s get serious now. Playing politics, at any level, is playing with poison. Maybe we should just heed the words of Police Commissioner Hilton Guy when he says, “We cannot leave the business of national security up to politicians.”