Joseph grasping at straws

Mr Joseph has not helped his own cause by his tendency to make comments which demonstrate either an attempt to put spin on a bad situation or an inability to deal with that situation. In the Senate last Tuesday, he was at it once again when he responded to a motion brought by Independent Senator Ramesh Deosaran which called on the Government to account for its mishandling of the crime problem. Claiming that the Government had not made any attempt to conceal the crime statistics — as though the almost-daily murders and kidnappings could be covered up — Mr Joseph announced that there had been "a 3.4 percent drop in the rate of increase of crime." In other words, although crime is still increasing, it’s not doing so as fast as it was. But the listing of this trivial fact only gave the impression of a desperate National Security Minister grasping at good-news straws.

Professor Deosaran’s motion noted that the Government had "failed in their efforts to prevent crime." Mr Joseph said that he could not agree with this. Does he then think that the Government is succeeding?

Professor Deosaran also called on the Government to say what concrete measures "with specific performance targets and mechanisms for accountability" it intended to take. Minister Joseph did not oblige. Instead, he spoke about the "Broken Windows" theory, which is a controversial and still-unproven idea that allowing small signs of disorder — broken windows, graffiti, litter — encourages the commission of more serious crimes. On this basis, Mr Joseph asserted that CEPEP had helped keep crime down by beautifying the environment. And this, of course, is the kind of absurd statement which causes the public to make jokes about Granny replacing Martin.

In his contribution, Senator Deosaran emphasised the need to improve the Police Service. "Fix the police first, don’t fix me first," he said, referring to the advertising campaign which has only added insult to the serious injury caused by crime. Mr Joseph repeated on Tuesday what he has said before — that he criticises the police in private and praises it in public. Clearly, though, that approach isn’t working.

Senator Deosaran has gone to the heart of the issue.

The police are there to prevent crime. Even if, as Police Commissioner Trevor Paul has said, the society is the ultimate cause of crime, that does not absolve the police from their duty to contain criminal activities, even as the authorities put long-term measures in place to reduce crime. (Indeed, we wonder if it has even occurred to the Commissioner to order his men to keep a protective eye on Elise Joseph and her grandson, in case the attacker’s friends try to take revenge for his humiliation.) So what the Government has to do is take some hard decisions in respect to improving the Police Service — part of which is improving the system for investigating rogue officers.

But, as Senator Deosaran perceptively noted in his contribution, "We have a culture in this country of passing the buck." Perhaps a good start to fighting that cultural trait would be for Minister Joseph to admit his responsibility for the present out-of-control crime situation.