Killing without consequence Published: Friday, December 26, 2014 It seems, then, that the Government would be well advised think deeply and holistically about all aspects of the problem—crime detection, the pace of justice and the quality of the prisons system—before engaging in simplistic, politically correct responses. Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams must be commended for his honesty in admitting that the police service has only managed to arrest and charge people in relation to 63 of the 399 murders committed up to the time he spoke. The figures confirmed by Mr Williams illustrate an ongoing problem that has accompanied the country’s high murder statistics—an abysmally low rate of detection. At 16 per cent, which is well below internationally accepted standards, T&T’s detection rate is a disaster to all but the criminals who must believe their chances of literally getting away with murder are very good. If 16 per cent of the murders this year have been “solved” with people arrested and charged, that means that in 84 per cent of the murders in T&T this year the police have been unable to ensure that the consequence of the action of killing someone is swift detection. This killing without consequence is not only leading to a culture where there is absolutely no respect for the law, it is also contributing to hundreds of people walking the streets of this country with blood on their hands. Sixty-three murder cases solved means 336 unsolved and more than 300 murderers walking free, adding to hundreds of free killers in the last five years alone. The real problem with the country’s low detection rate is that the population has lost faith in the ability of the police service to protect them repercussions of cooperating with the law. This often means that the eyewitnesses to murders fail to come forward to cooperate with the police service—a sure sign that the ‘Informer Fi Dead’ culture has been transposed from the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica to Trinidad. While there would be national support for the proposal by the anti-crime authorities to get foreign assistance to redress the abysmal murder detection statistics, T&T has heard that song before. In fact, reports of the police seeking foreign assistance have been played so often, that the song has taken on Top 40 status. Even if the Government goes ahead and gets crime-fighting assistance from overseas, the murder detection rate is but one important part of an overall plan to reduce the murder rate. Swift detection must be followed by swift prosecution, a judicial system that is able to mete out swift justice and a prison system that serves as a deterrent to crime. Or no prison system at all. Quite predictably in the face of an out-of-control murder rate, the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has fallen back on the easy hang-them-high solution. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the prime minister said that she had asked Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to bring the Constitution Amendment (Capital Offences) Bill back to Cabinet with the possibility that the legislation, which would allow the State to hang murderers, would be reintroduced for debate when Parliament resumes in the new year. Even if the legislation is passed by both houses of parliament, quite clearly in light of the 1993 Pratt and Morgan judgment of the Privy Council, the ability of T&T to impose capital punishment would be constrained by the slow pace of justice, even in high profile murder cases. It seems, then, that the Government would be well advised think deeply and holistically about all aspects of the problem—crime detection, the pace of justice and the quality of the prisons system—before engaging in simplistic, politically correct responses. Editorial Source:: Trinidad Guardian The post Killing without consequence appeared first on Trinidad & Tobago Online. #trinidad
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 08:58:56 +0000
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