Swift Justice for cop’s killers

Even in quite lawless jurisdictions, criminals tend to be hesitant about killing police officers. This is because they know that even a lackadaisical police force will mobilise itself if one of its members is murdered. After all, even lazy or incompetent police officers have a strong sense of self-preservation. In Trinidad and Tobago, however, the bandits appear to have no such fear of the Police Service. Police Constable Casrajh Mansingh, who was ruthlessly gunned down on Friday night, was unarmed and would have been 50 years old tomorrow. It is likely that the criminals robbing a bar could have escaped without killing him.

But criminals now clearly consider a willingness to murder to be a crucial part of their activities, even when they do not encounter resistance. It may even be that the killer who so unhesitatingly pumped four bullets into PC Mansingh’s chest has won added respect from his cohorts. However, what should be happening is that the killer’s partners-in-crime should be putting as much distance as possible between themselves and him, on the assumption that he is now a marked man.

This may indeed be the case, but the contempt with which criminals have been treating the police suggests that the former have great faith in the incompetence of the latter. And why shouldn’t the bandits feel confident that they will get away scot-free? The murder detection rate now stands at a dismal 20 percent and is declining daily. And even the account of PC Mansingh’s death reveals a lack of professionalism on the part of the officers. Mansingh was on patrol with a male and female constable when the police command centre relayed a robbery report to them. The officers went to the bar and guesthouse where the robbery was taking place.

When they arrived at the bar, the two other constables entered the building, while Mansingh went around to the reception area of the guest house. This was an obvious mistake. It is a fundamental principle of police work that officers should always work with one partner. Certainly, when responding to a crime report, no officer should ever be alone — especially when the officer in question is unarmed. As it was, PC Mansingh was caught by himself and without a weapon. He became what no police officer ever should be — an easy target. Additionally, when the other officers heard the gunshots that mowed down Mansingh, only one of them — the female constable — reached the scene in time to confront the bandits. But she was lucky to escape only with a minor wound, while the bandits escaped on foot.

In the wake of their colleague’s murder, other officers have complained about a lack of guns and bullet-proof vests. If true, this is unacceptable. These are not times when officers can respond to any sort of crime report without at least two of them being equipped with both guns and vests. But it is also incumbent on officers to stick to their basic training in police work. It is bad enough that bandits have no fear of killing ordinary citizens. But if they also have no fear of killing police officers, then crime is truly out of control.

The murder of PC Mansingh is a shocking matter and we hope that the authorities would do all that is legally possible to bring the killer  or killers to swift justice. The police are expected to respond and must respond when called upon by the public and once again the authorities must equip them so that they can serve the public without having to sacrifice their lives.