US Congressman: Anyone can fight violent crime

“As long as you believe you can make a change for the better, it can be done,” Lungren said.

Lungren was the main speaker at yesterday’s launch of the Caribbean Security Forum 2017 at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain. He said it took a wedding photographer, in recent years, to lobby for legislation in California to increase the penalties to 25 years for a felon after two convictions.

During a robbery, the photographer’s daughter was shot dead by a felon who had several convictions and had recently been released from jail. Lungren said that when the photographer engaged with lawmakers to increase the penalties for convicted felons, they literally questioned, “Who are you to come before us to tell us how to write law?” The photographer, he said, then went through the process in California and, despite opposition, he won.

That law, Lungren said, was one of the key elements that was helping to keep the crime rate down.

The Caribbean Security Forum is an initiative of the Global Business Leadership Forum and the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition Services Industry which will be held on September 21 and 22 in Port of Spain.

“Our hope is that this forum would be one of the means to make that change (in TT),” Lungren said.

The forum, which is being organised by the business community to share ideas on how the current crime and security issues were affecting the TT society in general, will involve non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and faith-based organisations, among others.

The forum will tap into a number of local and international experts.

Their objective is to devise a plan that is workable for all stakeholders and could be implemented by all committed parties.

Prior to travelling, Lungren said, he took note of the US State Department’s status for American tourists in terms of safety and security in TT. It said, “critical” for crime. That was the highest level of concern by the US State Department, he said, noting that violent crime was a critical issue in this country.

Having worked to reform the criminal justice system in California when the state was experiencing escalating violent crime over a 25-year period, Lungren said changes had to be made in the way the criminal courts operated. He said aspects of the bail system were changed along with certain aspects in the definition of crime.

Lungren said, he was not suggesting that what was done in the US should be done in TT, however, some things could be adapted while other innovative measures could be taken to suit prevailing conditions.