Coronavirus and opportunistic crime

Opportunistic crimes are crimes that derive from particular sets of circumstances that, on account of their arrival,   might create windows of opportunity for their perpetration. Those particular crimes would probably not have been perceived as feasible had the circumstances/conditions that triggered them not arisen, in the first place.

 There used to be a time, for example, when the necessity for the routine physical movement of large quantities of cash across public spaces (payrolls come to mind here) created a window of opportunity for heists. That window has now been, to a greater extent, closed on account of the creation of more secure methods of executing those kinds of transactions.

The coronavirus, its circumstances and the population management methods associated with trying to limit its spread, would appear to have given rise to opportunities for the perpetration of some types of opportunistic crimes. The police authorities in the United Kingdom have had to address a spate of what they have termed opportunistic crimes which, according to one media report, are designed, mind-bogglingly, to “hinder efforts to control the (coronavirus) crisis.” Some of the examples of those crimes committed recently in Britain include the theft of oxygen masks, the puncturing of the wheel of a crisis response vehicle and the “raiding of food banks.” Upon contemplation, probably the best response that the rational amongst us can muster to this kind of behaviour is, quite simply, that ‘it takes all sorts.’

There are other types of opportunistic crimes too………like (quite possibly) last Thursday’s ‘home invasion’ in Republic Park.  It is probably not unlikely that the home invaders’ game plan might have factored in the physical and emotional ‘climate’ created by the coronavirus malady specifically the attendant social distancing imperative. Social distancing, necessary as it has become in the present circumstances, can impact negatively on practices that Guyanese commonly associate with neighbourliness and by extension with the security of communities. In these times, many of us may resort to what is known in Guy-ana as ‘keeping ourselves to ourselves,’ a condition of mind that can reduce our mindfulness of the virtue of being ‘our brother’s keeper.’ Who knows whether the Republic Park robbery may not have been made possible on account of the bandits’ assessment that the strictures placed on  public movement might, to a lesser or greater extent, erode  that collective looking out for each other and looking out for the unusual that is known to be the practice in many communities.

Even in these difficult circumstances, therefore, it does not harm to make the point that while there can be no relaxing of measures like social distancing in the fight against the coronavirus, it is important that we become aware of the opportunities that such measures might specifically create for the commission of crimes.

Substantively, this is, as well, a matter for the police. Their training addresses, among other things, the criminal mind and how, conceivably, that mind might work, from one set of conditions to another. One expects, for example, that the Guyana Police Force would have given thought to crime strategy approaches that might result from the changed environment arising out of measures like social distancing and curfews. Contextually, and to return momentarily to last Thursday’s Republic Park home invasion, it is not unlikely that had the strictures of social distancing not been in place the five bandits may well have opted to ‘stand down,’ on the basis of a line of reasoning that may have factored in the likelihood of a nearby police patrol, which, it should be stressed is not the same as saying that the GPF is not doing its best within the   limits of its capabilities at this time.

Leaving aside the issue of the Republic Park incident, it is worth mentioning that the current regimen of coronavirus-related restrictions on the behaviour of people can create further openings for opportunistic crimes. Shift workers facing night time transportation difficulties to get to and from work are particularly vulnerable targets for opportunistic crimes, as are users of vulnerable ATM’s, the Scotia Bank ATM service situated inside the Courtyard Mall compound on Robb Street – which, in recent weeks, is largely deserted even during periods which we customarily term ‘high day time,’ being particularly vulnerable. All of these various conditions that facilitate opportunistic crimes are linked to circumstances arising out of the prevailing coronavirus emergency.

So that it is altogether appropriate to wonder aloud as to whether our prevailing public policing strategies have benefitted from any tweaking of the procedures including, for example, the significant stepping up of night time police patrols and the placement of adequate all-night security details at ATM’s, (these are just two examples) which initiatives might not just raise the level of public assurance but might, as well, add additional tiers of challenge to the plans of opportunistic criminals.

One assumes that in the final analysis the society, as a whole, the health services and law enforcement included, will take away lessons of positive behaviour-altering value from this experience.  Even in the midst of our efforts to fend off the existing challenge and to minimize its actual toll it is important that we not, on account of acts of indifference or an absence of plain good sense, pay a higher price than otherwise ought to have been the case.