Dear Editor,
Whenever we hear from the Ministry of Public Security and/or the Guyana Police Force (GPF), it is always good news: “Crime is on the decline”. And figures have been trotted out to demonstrate this. However, those statements are really not believed by the public. Instead, many persons are of the view that crime is on the rise, and we have once again reached the stage where many crimes are not even being reported. The GPF should be careful with their figures; those figures can cause them to lose credibility.
It is true that we have experienced high crime rates in the past. One particular spike in crime that shook the Guyanese nation is the one that took place after the jailbreak of 2002. That was indeed a bad period.
What had made the crime spree so prolonged during that period was the political support it had been given by the Opposition PNC. Some elements of the then Opposition even tried to make the criminals appear to be “freedom fighters”.
Weapons taken from the army by the PNC during the late 1970s and 1980s were often found in the possession of several criminals whenever they were apprehended or shot by the Police at that time.
Even the 31 AK-47 rifles that went missing from the army (GDF) found their way to the said group of criminals. Interestingly, some senior army officers who were prominent during that period are now holding politically appointed positions in the regime. A former Commissioner of Police also holds a ministerial position. Yes, those were difficult times.
The calibre of crime today is, however, quite different. Crimes now are not politically motivated, but are caused by the deteriorating economic situation. Over the last sixteen months of APNU+AFC rule, the economy has slowed greatly and is approaching the point of stagnation. Unemployment is on the rise: hundreds have lost their jobs at Barama, the Upper Demerara timber producers are finding it difficult to cope without BaiShanlin, one gold mine has sent off many workers, and hundreds of others have already been dismissed from GuySuCo.
In the meantime, no new jobs are being created to absorb the thousands of young people who are leaving schools and tertiary institutions. The Government is also taxing small businesses, the self-employed and those employing just a few persons. High taxation is also working against expansion in production. In the rice growing areas, hundreds are unemployed or underemployed as production contracts.
It can be observed that most of those targeted are not rich people. These are small shop owners who cannot afford to hire security for their homes and/or their bottom house businesses. They are soft targets.
The situation is compounded by the regular release of prisoners by the regime. Moreover, the attitude of the APNU+AFC coalition while in opposition was to launch vicious attacks on the Police Force, resulting in crime fighters becoming very tentative.
While we expect more effective action from the Police in the fight against crime, we must also urge and support them in their efforts. Residents of both urban and rural communities must also design a plan and organize groups to assist in the crime fight in a bid to better protect themselves from criminals. Their efforts must complement the efforts of the Police. In many farming communities, larceny is also on the rise. This is having a negative impact on food production, which will subsequently drive up food prices on the market.
As noted above, these are mainly economic crimes. Therefore, the main responsibility lies with the Government to stimulate the economy, so that more jobs can be created. That will have an impact on the situation.
Clearly, then, the main responsibility lies with the Government to focus on ways and means to grow the economy now, and create employment so that honest work can be provided for the unemployed. Slogans about preparing for the good times to come are meaningless. We don’t have to prepare for the good times; let those times come now.
Parroting statistics that don’t match the perceptions of people will not bring any comfort to the population.
Sincerely,
Donald Ramotar
Former President
