Dear Editor,
On Tuesday, July 7, at a meeting specially convened to deal with ever-rising violent crime, a message (which happens to be ambiguous) was sent out to the criminals by the new administration, namely, “We are coming after you.” That is so true, as already it is apparent that the criminals are in the lead and the government is really after them in the sense of being behind. There is a lot of catching up to do and already the pursuers (the government) do not have a good track record, let alone possession of adequate tools to assure the speed required for catching up. Let us take for example of the March 15, assassination of Courtney Crum Ewing, which is yet another unsolved execution-style murder, not forgetting the shooting of Ganesh Ramlall, owner of the Multiplex Mall. Already in a six-month period Guyana has chalked up 80 murders, of which lamentably too many remain unsolved. New cases with new faces have joined old ones to become cold cases.
We must bear in mind that in any society the safety and protection of the citizens in addition to the security of the state are threatened by continuously high levels of unsolved serious crimes along with correspondingly low conviction rates. This is a frightening state of affairs, and although President Granger is expressing serious concern, (and as he rightfully should), all others present at the said meeting including Moses Nagamootoo, Khemraj Ramjattan, Amna Ally, Seelall Persuad, and Colonel Khemraj Persuad should be reminded that this deplorable state of affairs had already previously come under fire. In 2013 in a scathing salvo directed towards the Guyana Police Force, its political head Clement Rohee stated that it need serious retooling, further slamming it for its long list of unsolved murders and bad recruitment practices, among a plethora of other issues.
In no uncertain terms he pointed out that owing to the ever growing number of unsolved murders, the public had arrived at the belief that the Force was totally incapable of solving high-profile cases. He recommended intensified training for detectives of the Criminal Investigation Department.
At a later police conference, then President Donald Remotar, in a harsh criticism of the Guyana Police Force, referred especially to the high rate of unsolved murders.
What has the government done thus far? Do not be fooled, the criminals are well schooled and it is apparent that they have made it their aim to remain ahead of the game. But the government is going long after advice and recommendations have been given, long after far too many lives have been lost, long after it has taken too long to arrive at crime scenes, long after botched investigations. It may have been going but certainly not in the right direction and no progress has been made. Instead the message to be sent to the criminals should be loud and clear bent on driving fear: “We are dedicated to the cause and will never pause; we will get everyone of you.”
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam
