"SLOWLY PROGRESSING"

 You will forgive me for returning AGAIN to this nasty problem that exists in the country of children being abused in State owned/funded children's homes. This morning's Trinidad Guardian (7th June, 2022) reports that the Assistant Commissioner of Police Sharon Cooper in charge of the investigative team that was appointed by Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob  on 16th May (some 22 days ago) was in the process of "currently interviewing persons"  and "are presently at the point of acquiring statements to obtain evidence". She also is reported as saying that "presently there is no need to relocate anyone" because "at this time none of the persons  interviewed is in harm's way". But on 25th May the Acting Commissioner of Police told the Parliament some NINE days after he appointed the investigative team that the team was in the early stages of its investigation and, "up to that time, they had not identified people within the children's homes that they can recommend being removed from the institutions immediately".

So? What the heck is going on? Is the Assistant Commissioner of Police saying that after more than THREE WEEKS that no evidence has been found or that there are NO REASONABLE suspicions that anybody MIGHT be guilty of some sort of abuse? Because if this is the case then Mr. Sabga's and Ms. Jones's respective committees are going to have to do a lot of explaining as to why their reports are false.

Frankly, I don't believe that the reports are false and I do believe that there has been some serious abuse which is still continuing, And this is where my problem begins: if the abuse is still going on don't we owe it to the children to take action IMMEDIATELY? NOW? And 'now' must mean 'now' - today, not tomorrow, not next week, but today! What is better? To suspend an innocent man or woman from his/her job, or to risk having an innocent child being abused? And that is the choice! We can pay the innocent man/woman to stay home while the evidence is being collected. But we can't pay for the abusing of an innocent child.

Right now there is a very real possibility that children are still being abused. But the police investigation is slowly progressing and a confidential report will be made "soon". And the authorities  are "investigating"! And we wonder why the crime rate is so high? Nobody is ever caught and prosecuted. Nobody! I have a bet with myself that absolutely nothing will come of this "investigation". Perhaps one or two very small fry might be caught, but this whole mess will be like the Akiel Chambers thing. No charges at all! But, we must be happy because the investigation is "slowly progressing".