ONE A DAY

Unfortunately, we suspect that the powers-that-be may not be willing to admit this. The 200 murders represent only a slight increase over last year’s rate, and National Security Minister Martin Joseph has habitually adopted the line that “things have been put in place.” This newspaper is well aware that crime-fighting measures would not bear immediate fruit. But it is Government spokespersons who have created the expectation of improvement. Prime Minister Patrick Manning made his now infamous statement that crime was “only temporary;” Trade and Industry Minister Ken Valley promised that a decline would be seen by December last year; and just a few weeks ago, Mr Joseph was boasting of a reduction in the murder rate.

All this is political spin by a Government which appears entirely unable to stem rising crime. However, while no one expects a sudden turnaround, the populace does have a reasonable expectation of signs of improvement. This has not happened. The murder rate has more or less held steady at an average of one a day. There does not seem to be any improvement in the detection rate of murders, far more for lesser crimes. And the age of men killed in gang-related violence appears to have increased, with persons in their 30s and even 40s falling victim. This is a significantly negative development since violent acts typically occur most frequently in the 18-24 cohort. When older men are drawn into violence, it suggests that societal breakdown is accelerating.

So what is the Government doing wrong? The rebuttal that it is not the Government’s fault, but “society’s” is not useful. The Government is part of society. Moreover, it is that part of the social organism which has the power to affect (whether deliberately or otherwise) all other social institutions. And, while there certainly are situations where a runaway crime rate might not be the result of government action or inaction, the statistical fact remains that the crime rate began rising soon after the PNM took office. The Government is quite aware of this, and its spokespersons have claimed that the seeds of the present crime problem were planted during the UNC’s reign. But, even if that is so, it still means that the present administration’s response has been quite inadequate. And so the question holds: What is the Government doing wrong?

The situation is admittedly a complex one. Yet it may not be oversimplifying to say that the Manning administration’s preference for a showy high-tech approach is a key part of the problem. The blimps, the Eyes-in-the-Sky, the 360-degree radar have made no difference.

Additionally, the PNM regime has not even been able to handle the technology properly, as the problems with the blimps and skytowers have amply demonstrated. Meanwhile, technological improvements that might do some good, as in forensics and surveillance cameras, are yet to be implemented.

Even worse, the Manning administration appears determined to ignore one clear cause of the high murder rate: the Unemployment Relief Programme. Many of the gang murders have been linked to the URP and the persons controlling it. But the URP is also the core of the PNM grassroots support — or so the Government believes — and it may well be that the PNM’s leaders have calculated that a high murder rate hurts them less politically than cleaning up the URP.

We would like our analysis to be wrong. Yet, if it is, then the question still remains: What is the Government doing wrong?