Suffer little children

Christmas is a time of giving but, for the criminals in our midst, it is also a time for stealing. This is why malls have increased their quota of security guards, while the cities and towns now have a heightened police presence. All this is premised on the reasonable expectation of more criminal activity in respect to theft, as well as an increase in assault because of more drinking and liming for the season. What could not necessarily have been predicted was an increase in the shootings and murders. Almost in reaction to the season’s spirit of generosity and selflessness, it seems, the minority of murderers in our midst have become even more callous and careless as they go about their violent agendas. The public has stood aghast as, within 48 hours, two young persons were hit by stray bullets in separate incidents, as bandits attempted to carry out hits on their enemies.

In the first incident, which occurred on Tuesday around 1.30 pm on George Street in Port-of-Spain, six-year-old Hakeem Rodney-Caliste was hit by a bullet during the murder of known hitman Oba Davis. Young Hakeem had to have the bullet removed from his jaw, and is probably only alive because the projectile spent most of its force in Davis body. Then, on Wednesday at about 9.15 am, 14-year-old Isaiah Phillip was shot in the side when four men attempted to shoot another man in John John, Laventille. When the shooting began, Isaiah grabbed his five-year-old brother who was playing outside and rushed him inside — but not soon enough to avoid being shot.

This is not the first time that bandits have shown such disregard for the presence of children as they go about their killings. It is only luck which has so far resulted in only wounding, not deaths, of small children caught in cross-fires. But 14-year-old Aneisha Simon was killed in exactly such a crossfire in Arima in August, as she was practising in the neighbourhood panyard. And, if the murder rate continues at this level, it is only a matter of time before an infant or toddler is killed by a bandit’s bullet. Whatever we may think of murderers in general, it is not axiomatic that this should be so. It is possible for someone to be a killer and still balk at shooting at their enemies in a situation where children may be injured or killed. But this is not the case with the killers now stalking our streets.

Their total contempt for the forces of law is shown by the times of the shootings, both occurring in broad daylight. This is part of the reason children were injured — if the killers thought it necessary to be cautious, they would wait for the cover of night and, in the late hours, children are less likely to be out. But, even if they haven’t calculated the probabilities in any deliberate manner, the criminals intuitively understand that the 25 percent detection rate means that they are unlikely to be caught. Indeed, the reason they are so bold-faced is because the probability of their being murdered far outweighs the chances of their being arrested.

The government can do nothing to make murderers less callous. But the authorities have begun putting measures in place which, hopefully, will bear fruit in 15 to 30 years. However, in the short- and medium-terms, reducing the chances of children getting killed in these gang-fuelled conflicts means getting the bandits to be less brazen. And that will only begin happening when the police response time increases drastically and the detection rate goes up.