Harbouring the criminals

WHERE do the criminals who terrorise our society live? Are they loners or shadowy characters who hide out in desolate places such as the forested areas of our country? Not really. The armed gang members, the bandits who rob and sometimes kill their victims, the kidnappers who abduct even little children for ransom, all live in communities of varying sizes and often with parents or in families of several members. More often than not, the criminals who prey on innocent citizens also have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, some of whom may even be actual aiders and abettors in their lawless activity. In such a situation we are forced to wonder about the general commitment of our society to ridding itself of the crime scourge which has now assumed critical proportions.

We say this because we are convinced that most, if not all, the violent criminals in our midst are known for what they are by a wide group of persons who comprise either supporters and benefactors or normally law-abiding citizens who are content to do nothing to stop the plunder, the bloodshed and the kidnappings. This may sound harsh but it is our view that every person, whether relative or friend or acquaintance or community member, who may know of the criminals in their midst and do nothing to stop their lawless career, is a positive part of the crime problem, actually condoning the terrorism that now afflicts the society that is also their own. Parents who benefit from the tainted proceeds of their sons’ lawlessness or who remain indifferent to the trauma their offspring inflicts upon law abiding citizens are a disreputable part of the menace. How often have we reported on the crocodile tears shed by parents over the dead bodies of their sons who were killed either in the course of a robbery or in shootouts with the Police when they found themselves cornered.

Instead of facing the truth of their sons’ criminal record, they would, to the bitter end, proclaim them such “good boys” who never hurt anybody. The fact is, by their non-action, by closing their eyes to their son’s criminality, these parents have contributed not only to the society’s agony but also to their own tragedy, the death of their sons. At a different level, the same condemnation can be levelled at relatives, friends and community members who do nothing to stop the marauding of criminals they may be close to or acquainted with. As citizens of TT, they must know they owe more to the society that is being continually and viciously raped than to whatever personal relationship they may have with callous lawbreakers. Trinidad and Tobago is too small, its social structures too close-knit, for criminals to exist and to carry out their vicious operations without being known by a fairly wide circle of persons.

The fact that, in these circumstances, crime could escalate to such an alarming level with criminals, even cold-blooded murderers,  being “sheltered” among their families, friends and communities tells us that a large part of our society is either like-minded or totally oblivious to their responsibilities as citizens. They cannot claim fear of reporting these miscreants to the Police as their reason for doing nothing, since they may also use the Crime Stoppers facility as a “safe”  way of helping to rid the country of its worst enemies. While we feel justified in our criticism of the government and the police for their failure to deal with the crime crisis, we must also condemn all those who harbour and tolerate the criminals in their midst. They are also responsible for the terror that besets us.