Is the Government concerned about crime?

THE EDITOR: I am dismayed and somewhat shocked at the nonchalant attitude and response by government ministers to the travel advisories issued by the UK, the USA and Canada. To me, this is a serious matter, and should not be taken lightly. TT is building a reputation around the world as a country where crime is rampant and most of all, the authorities are impotent to do anything to control it. On top of locals not being safe, now tourists are being targetted as victims of rape, robberies and even murder.

From the NSM, to the Minister of Tourism and even the PM, no one has seen it fit to issue a public statement showing their deep concern for the country again being marred by these travel warnings. It is like they are all downplaying the significance of this event, with the hope that it will all “just go away,” like a bad dream. I know no government wants to be seen as panicking or issuing states of emergencies, but the non-responsiveness of the Manning administration leads me to believe that they are either incompetent or they don’t care about the safety of their own nationals or foreigners visiting our once fair land.

They are protected by the police due to their positions in government, but the average citizen has to face the hazards of daily living with these criminal elements. It reduces one’s quality of life and increases the level of stress one undergoes each day, thus, potentially, shortening one’s life expectancy. I feel that the government and the police should be doing more to target these criminal and institute new laws to stiffen the penalties for gun crimes, especially. An example of this would be: a jail term of 5-10 years for doing a crime where a gun is used, 20-25 years for firing the weapon and life in prison if someone is shot during that crime.

Efforts must be made to get serious with dealing with the flood of illegal guns in the country. I believe that my proposal above, would be a start. If not, we are destined to continue down this road of destruction that will mean the end of life in ‘paradise’ as so many of us know it. Otherwise, all the grandest plans of Vision 2020 will not mean a thing. If the citizenry cannot feel safe within its places of work or living, or to go about daily activities, all that other stuff will not amount to anything. Remember, we are less than 15 years away from that watershed date, so it is time we get moving!

KELVIN C JAMES
Port-of-Spain