All eyes on crime talks

Expectation is high. A serious effort will have to be made to give the public confidence in the process of governance, produce tangible results that can lead to actionable goals and prevent the continued loss of life in crimeplagued areas. The legacies of both Rowley and Persad-Bissessar are on the line .

But the weight of history is against both leaders. Previous bipartisan exercises have consistently met with poor results .

Though many laws have been passed with cooperation between both sides of the political divide, often these items of legislation have been impugned in the courts, rejected by administrators, or were ineffective .

A notorious example of cooperation between the Government and the Opposition was the infamous Section 34 which was meant to be part of a suite of criminal justice reform legislation. Instead of making things easier for justice officials, the selective proclamation of the section made things easier for white-collar criminals .

Luckily, however, the same bipartisan approach which saw the bad law passed came to the rescue to repeal it .

Yet another example of cooperation which went haywire was the passing of anti-gang legislation .

No one has been able to demonstrate whether the Anti-Gang Act 2011 served any useful purpose .

In fact, the law may have glorified gangs by making them criminal, thereby worsening the problem .

The sun set on the Act last month, without a clear dent on the crime situation being demonstrated .

Another much-heralded example of Government/Opposition cooperation came under PNM Prime Minister Patrick Manning when, with the participation of the UNC, a new process to select a Police Commissioner was agreed to. At the time, the process was deemed a good example of teamwork .

Then, years later, Manning himself rejected the new process, saying it came about as a result of a compromise .

The fact that we are yet to have a permanent Police Commissioner itself shows how cooperation is itself not a guarantee of good quality legislation .

What is holding the State back in its fight against crime? Is it a question of budget? National Security has the largest slice of State spending .

Why has this not had the kind of impact that is expected? A question must also be raised about the effective use of technology .

Public Administration Minister Maxie Cuffie has recently said available mechanisms are not being utilised. If this is the case, what can be done to turn the switch on? While we await the answers, the dead bodies continue to pile up .

On Tuesday, Rowley reportedly summoned the executive of the TT Police Service, as well as all senior superintendents and all heads of sections to an impromptu meeting in which he told the officers, “Take charge of your divisions.” A CompStat (Computer Statistics) meeting at the fifth floor of the Police Administration Building, Edward Street, had to be interrupted to facilitate this meeting at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s .

It is not a secret that the Prime Minister envisions a Police Service that is more accountable on a divisional level. However, both Rowley and Persad-Bissessar must take care to not directly intervene in the operations of the Police Service .

Nor must the politicians be cavalier about the role of the Police Service Commission. Too often that commission’s stake in the process is ignored by legislators .

It is also important for leaders to appreciate the domestic sources of much crime and the fate of the families of victims. Prevention is better than cure, yes, but what about the ripple-effects of all the traumatic bloodshed? Both parties have a lot on their plate. We hope they are up to the task .