In recent times, pronouncements from officialdom have sought to communicate and indicate that criminal activity were on the decline. While our people are hearing one thing, they are seeing, and some are experiencing, an entirely different state-of-affairs. A cursory examination of the news, over the last few days, revealed that a gold miner was murdered on October 14; a man was strangled to death on October 12; a pensioner was murdered on October 10, and two (2) brothers were discovered murdered on October 10 as well. Apart from that, the October 13 Kaieteur News reported that “…criminal elements continue to roam freely in and around the Stabroek, Georgetown area despite police presence”.
Then, we heard just recently too that in one village on the East Coast of Demerara several persons were robbed in one night alone and several houses were broken into as well. We hasten to wonder how many of these incidents, if any, were actually reported to the Guyana Police Force. At the same time, we cannot ignore what appear to be wanton and reckless use of our roadways and the seeming disregard of all the rules of the road resulting in the loss of life and limb as well.
Certainly, what the news has been saying and what we have been hearing just over the last few days demonstrates that we cannot give any credibility to the notion that crime is abating. The truth of the matter, as FITUG understands it, is that people are genuinely and sincerely concerned and very worried that they can be the next unwitting victim. Today, the situation has caused people to feel insecure to be home alone or to venture out for social activities. Certainly, our people ought not to be confined to living in perpetual fear of being attacked. This is not the way people should live as it has serious implications for their well-being and psyche.
The Federation, reviewing the APNU+AFC 2015 Elections Manifesto, recognized a commitment to “[d]evelop a comprehensive Public Security plan”. The plan was aimed, among other things, to reduce “…the high rate of armed robberies, murders, piracy, human trafficking and domestic violence while improving policing and maintaining police teams and identifying ways of ensuring that police officers spend more time deterring, detecting, preventing and investigating crime”. Today, it seems, that the undertaking has gone through the window, like so many others made by the Coalition.
Undoubtedly, there is a critical need for the Guyana Police Force to proactively address what is clearly a frightening situation. The need for regular patrols, intelligence gathering, proactive police action, among other things cannot be underscored. These initiatives, among others, could be helpful to bring the situation under control. Of course, we cannot fail to recognize that a lot of emphasis, in recent times, has been placed by the Guyana Police Force in augmenting the Presidential security detail. This, we hold, is an unnecessary utilization of valued and limited resources and cannot be seen as helpful in denting criminal aspirations and plans.
The rising crime also cannot be delinked from what is taking place elsewhere in society. The Federation recently pointed out that the most recent Labour Force Survey, prepared by the Bureau of Statistics, indicated that unemployment rate rose from 12.2 per cent at the end of 2017 to 13.8 per cent at the end of 2018. In the same period, youth unemployment rose from 22.9 per cent to 25.6 per cent. The report also disclosed that earnings of workers also declined during the period. This worrying trend cannot be ignored as it well has an impact on crime in our society.
For a Government which possesses so many self-identified security experts, it is disheartening to take stock of the present crime situation. Clearly, there is an urgent need to address and arrest the declining situation in the interest of people’s and nation’s well-being. We need to live with peace of mind and be able to go about our everyday lives without the prevailing anxieties. At this time, we look to those charged with security responsibilities to devise and implement credible and workable initiatives to put a brake on the harrowing situation our people must face day in, day out.
