Will passage of Police Reform Bills reduce crime?

THE EDITOR: What is the point of the Government of TT bringing the Police Reform Bills before the Parliament again? I know the bills have the support of many business people and their organisations (local and American Chamber of Commerce, DOMA etc) who are frustrated and angry over what they see as ever rising crime situation, that does not seem to have any end with gun battles in the streets of the capital city and worst off, innocent bystanders being caught up in the melee (part of the collateral damage, I guess?)

As was recently reported in the dailies, there is nothing new in the bills that would cause the Opposition to vote for them now. Nothing has changed in them from six months ago. They are the same warmed-over pieces of legislation that failed to attract their support back then. Maybe the Government thinks that it can embarrass the UNC into supporting the bills now, since the crime situation in the country has gotten progressively worse (103 murders recorded so far this year, compared with 69 at this same time in 2004.) With people so fed up of crime in general and murders and kidnappings in particular, the UNC may be seen as obstructionists for not supporting the Government in its endeavours to deal with the escalating numbers of deaths. So the hope is that the UNC will put petty party politics aside and do something positive for the country as a whole.

Fat chance! Given the current political climate, I don’t see that happening. But my question is: will the passage of these pieces of legislation really do anything to effectively reduce the number of crimes in the country? And how soon after their passage will these bills become the law of the land? My reason for these questions is that I have read where certain pieces of legislation passed back in 2000 and 2001 and even earlier and are still to be made effective. I speak of the EMA and Occupational Safety Act and laws of income disclosure under the Integrity in Public Office Act.

It takes office holders filing a lawsuit in court to get the Integrity Commission to do what the law required them to do: draft forms, etc to make the law work. Based on these examples, if the pattern is followed, these Police Reform Bills, if passed will languish indefinitely before they are enforced. In the meantime, more and more people will be subject to be victims of crime, while we wait for these Police Reform Bills to work as we have waited for the Integrity Commission, again to do their job. Waiting on the Integrity Commission to act is not costing anyone their life, but waiting for the enforcement of the police bills and other important pieces of legislation, can literally cost you your life.

KELVIN C JAMES Sr
via e-mail