DO WE REALLY WANT TO FIX CRIME?

Crime remains a huge problem in our little country. That there are solutions ... most of them unacceptable in any society that claims to adhere to democratic principles ... is almost beside the point. The point is that the present Government seems to be unable or unwilling (or both) to do anything about this horrible blight that we all have to live with. It was just a little more than four years ago when Keith Rowley, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, boasted that the PNM had a plan that would fix the problem. And the country bought into his claims and made him the Prime Minister.

Now, years later, crime has not decreased but the statistics show that it has done the opposite. Rumours abound that high level PNM Government Ministers are themselves associated with gangsters and although there have been attempts to paint leading opposition figures with the same brush, most of those accusations have fallen on the stony ground of public indifference; none of them have been proved and in any case, those opposition guys are not in power. (I suppose that this might become an issue when the elections are finally called but for now, it really is a non-issue.)

But what is alarming is that not only are the accusations against certain Government Ministers being completely ignored, but there seems to be a concerted effort by the powers-that-be to prevent any real discussion of same coming out. Last week's abrupt adjournment of the joint select committee (JSC) meeting being chaired by Minister Fitzgerald Hinds have led to many ugly and most unnecessary suspicions being directed against the erstwhile chairman that are probably better left unexpressed at this time. But (and it is a huge "but") that doesn't mean that people aren't talking about it and openly accusing the Government of protecting their own.  Put another way, people have formed their own opinions and what they are saying privately is awful.

It is not in the best interests of our society that rumours like this be allowed to flourish. They must be put to rest one way or the other, either by proving that they are absolutely not true or by proving that they are true and arresting and charging the perpetrators.

Let me put it this way by asking you some straight questions:
(1)  Do you believe that there are politicians involved with gangsters?
(2)  If so, do you believe that these politicians come from both parties or only one party?
(3)  If you believe that they come from both parties do you believe that the Government is trying to cover up the involvement of their people?

The questions do not require comment. They are straight 'yes' or 'no' questions. You realize that your answers to yourself will do several things. Firstly, your answers will show whether or not you really have the country's interests at heart or whether you are so hopelessly and helplessly biased that you cannot possibly be regarded as a fair-minded person. Secondly, your answers will show whether or not you are willing to close your eyes to criminal activities if those activities are being committed by the political party that you support.

So? Do you still believe that we can fix this crime problem?