…on crime
You don’t have to be a social scientist with research credentials to know that ever since the new government settled in, there’s been a spike in ALL categories of crime. Now even their political opponents wouldn’t accuse the APNU/AFC coalition of declaring open season to criminals. Or, that they were supposed to “solve” the crime problem in Guyana in a month.
But citizens can’t overlook the fact that “crime fighting”/”crime busting” was a major plank of the APNU/AFC election platform and played a major role in snucking them into office by a whisker.

This was especially true in Berbice, where the AFC told their skittish supporters that they only coalesced with the APNU because only the latter could wipe out crime. APNU itself trumpeted their top-heavy militarised leadership as being “most qualified” to address security issues.

So what citizens are demanding now is: “Where’s the plan to tackle crime?” The new Minister of National Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, had been shouting from the rooftops for decades about his crime fighting credentials.

Old hands would recollect him in 1994 talking on the then Commissioner Laurie Lewis on policing matters. And also his then party – the PPPC. He was the fiercest critic of Gail Teixeira and Clement Rohee as Home Affairs Ministers.

So are we to understand that with all these security mavens, capturing office on a crime fighting platform, never had a plan? And citizens should “bear strain” while they figure out what to do?

As soon as Ramjattan took his oath of office, he ostentatiously announced that transfers the present Commissioner had made in his top brass, be placed on “hold”. Did he just do that to show that he was “man” or did he have some substantive concerns that the transfers didn’t fit in with strategic plans he and his government might have formulated?
Well, with his dithering answers he gave in yesterday’s GTimes as to what he’s doing about crime – correlated with the crime spike – we know this fella had no plans…so he was just mouthing off.

How reassuring is it to be told by Ramjattan that “measures are being put into place to tackle crime”, when he couldn’t be specific on even one such “measure”. What’s the meaning of saying that “communities must provide information and be fearless”?

Didn’t Ramjattan ever hear about “intelligence led policing” which is based on Police actively cultivating sources in communities?

Police all over the world identify neighbourhoods with high density criminal populations and insert snitches to give them tip-offs of impending criminal activities. But it’s becoming clear that the criminals sensed they have a window of opportunity to increase their depredations with the confused “Christmas blow-blow” at the top of the crime fighting apparatus.
And they’re making hay, while the people bleed.