With the police working to dismantle the criminal network which supported now dead fugitives Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles, an ex-senior security officer is warning that the social conditions that led to their bloody campaign still need to be addressed.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking police officer told this newspaper recently that it has been acknowledged that quite a large number of persons assisted the men in one way or the other in continuing their rampage and this was most notable in Charles’ escape from the Sparendaam lock-ups and his linking up with fellow villager Rawlins.
The two are thought to have linked up a mere three days following Charles’ escape. They were eventually shot dead after police cornered them in a concrete structure at Kuru Kururu on the Linden–Soesdyke Highway. They were staying in a wooden shack belonging to a friend, Sean Grant at Timehri. Grant was shot dead before they were found at Kuru Kururu.
The police officer told this newspaper last week that investigations are still ongoing and so far the police are coming up with names of persons who were part of the notorious gang but have never been arrested. The officer said information is also being made available on persons who supported Skinny after his escape and that this information could lead to additional arrests and charges. Telephone records are also still being analysed as part of this process, the officer revealed.
President Bharrat Jagdeo in a televised interview aired on state-run NCN on Friday also acknowledged that remnants of the gang are still around and urged that even though Charles and Rawlins were caught, that the joint services not be complacent.
Further, Jagdeo said the lawmen were aware that there are still many persons out there that supported the gang in one way or the other including taxi drivers and cooks.
However, even as those efforts continue, an ex-senior security official has urged that the killing of the two fugitives not be seen as any ground-breaking crackdown on crime in Guyana, since the conditions which allowed them to become so dangerous still exist and must be addressed sooner than later.
Speaking on the basis of anonymity the source said “the real contributory factors have to be addressed, killing them has not solved the problem which we will continue to face once certain things are not done. The conditions which created the first Fineman are still with us, so it’s not a matter of one or two criminals but an issue of criminality among us that has to be addressed.”
Before the June 6 attack in the Upper Berbice River, Rawlins had been able to evade capture and following a five-year crime-spree he was killed on August 28.
The source reiterated the point made in many circles both locally and in the diaspora that there are still too many unemployed youths in the society and the underground economy encouraged them to become part of the criminal network which the joint services is now struggling to dismantle.
His pregnant girlfriend Tenisha Morgan, who mysteriously disappeared was said to be the cause of Rawlins’ first alleged murder spree at Lusignan. It came hours after an attack on Police Headquarters at Eve Leary in which two policemen were injured.
Morgan was reportedly seen at the Berbice car park and was heavily pregnant when she disappeared and not heard from again.
Police had then said they received a telephone call from a man purporting to be Rawlins who made several threats and comments in relation to who he felt was holding the teen hostage. She was said to be bearing his child.
The 18-year-old Buxton teen went missing on January 18 and a missing person’s report was lodged by her mother on January 22. The next day police announced that they had upped security arrangements following the threats if the girl was not found.
On the night of January 23, a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) patrol came under heavy gunfire in a 20-minute-long shoot-out which resulted in the death of Corporal Ivor Williams of Dartmouth Village, Essequibo.
The next event was the attack on police headquarters, and within a matter of hours, 11 persons including women and children were slaughtered in an attack on the small community of “Tract A” Lusignan which left Guyanese reeling in shock.
Up to now there has been no definitive word on the whereabouts of Morgan. Asked about the link between her disappearance and the events at Lusignan, the officer insisted that the threats were received by someone purporting to be Rawlins. The officer admitted that threats were made but the caller did not indicate exactly what he would do.
The officer pointed out too that there was no system available locally for voice detection even though the voice sounded like Rawlins’.
New faces
Following the 2002 jail-break, after which crime skyrocketed in the country, the escapees Troy Dick, Dale Moore, Andrew Douglas, Shawn Browne and Mark Fraser had been the target of the lawmen for some time. The men spearheaded a gruesome crime spree that claimed many lives and injured dozens. All the men were eventually killed, the last being Dick in late 2006.
“But then Fineman emerged and other new faces keep popping up every time,” the source emphasized.
The source noted that unemployment remained an important fact to consider. While many of the youths remain without gainful employment, the temptation to turn to crime is evident.
The source pointed out too that in light of inadequate security arrangements at the country’s borders many illegal guns continue to pour in along with other contraband items.
“Evidence suggests that some of these guns are coming via these small airstrips which are unguarded and then these very persons involved in the illegal activity are likely to want to employ guards. So the whole contraband economy is also playing a large role in contributing to crime and this is in a sense disabling the law enforcement and so they cannot cope,” the source explained.
The former officer who served in the country’s security service emphasized too that to deal with the many social ills a policy approach will have to be taken. He added that coupled with this there must be serious police reform which should always remain on the front burner.
“We need a professional police force because for now it is a case of too few people doing too much work and so there will be misconduct among them unless they are properly supervised. This could never be understated,” he said.
Meanwhile the source pointed out that it was important too that the police work on their image since this was crucial if they intend to achieve any level of co-operation from residents who could provide them with valuable intelligence.
In this regard he pointed out that in the case of the network supporting the now dead fugitives, Rawlins and Charles, many persons would have had information but would be afraid to disclose such to the police since the force’s professionalism had taken a dive over the years.
He pointed to the example when many Agricola youths were arrested by the joint services, coincidentally, days before the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Congress which was held at Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The youths were subsequently released.
“This would only discourage these same youths from giving information,” the source said.
Many other social factors including the high rates of single-parent women who are left to fend with children without paternal guidance have been cited as crime factors.
