Has the government lost control of the country's crime problem? Monday, August 22nd 2005

Dear Editor, Before you printed the news about my dear friend Jack's murder, I read Ms Teixeira's comment that the business community should not expect the police to deal with all their safety issues. My first reaction was, how can a government minister say something like that? It was like admitting that the government had lost control of the country's crime problem. Ms Teixeira represents the government that appointed her; the things she said speaks volumes, and what I feel is a complete loss of confidence in the government. I do not live there, but it breaks my sprit that a country so full of truly gifted people lacks the courage or knowledge to deal with its problems. Yours faithfully, Trevor Prowell From: Bhatchaman@yahoogroups.com   The people have to take the law into their own hands and defend themselves by whatever means. A member  Subject: Re: [Bhatchaman] Premnauth_Bisnauth - Guyana Chronicle Sutley ,   Businessmen in Guyana have to come together , finance their own armed and CCTV security services with people trained to effectively use short arms , gather intelligence etc .   As you recall in 2002 I made this same remark , because I knew that crime could not be contained by the GPF and GOG . I also publicly remarked that ' justice for indians will only come from the barrels of guns ' and that the PNC will also become alarmed by crimes when these criminals begin turning on afro Guyanese as targets also .   There are basic , simple measures which can be taken to gather intelligence on criminals and their activities . Imagine small villages like Buxton and now Agricola are holding the country's well being to ransom and no one can get to the sources of these elements .   Guyana needs  Phantom Death Squads  to take out these barbarians because barbarism is on the rise and these guys know every move the army and police makes before they can even make it .   varuna Where crime is concerned blaming the victim is not the answer Thursday, August 18th 2005 Dear Editor, I am very disappointed by Minister Teixeira's position on crime. As I understand it, her suggestions include the following: 1. Business owners must invest in high technology surveillance equipment; 2. The business community cannot expect the police to deal with these issues (armed robberies, rape and murder), they have to invest. 3. Business people must be responsible for making it difficult for the criminals. This is a clear case of the Minister abdicating her responsibility for security to the nation, particularly to the business community. So much for the private sector being the engine of growth. What the Minister is also saying is that she cannot rely on the police to deal with the crime situation; in other words, the government and the police have given up and the citizens are basically on their own. Currently, private security guards already outnumber the police. Further investment in high technology surveillance equipment will not solve the problem. Even when you identify the criminals, you will still have to call the police to find and arrest them. You still have to rely on public prosecution and the judicial system. We all know that thieves need buyers for their stolen goods. If there are no buyers, there will be no theft. When was the last time you heard about the conviction of someone who receives and resells stolen goods? The people in Guyana live in small communities over a small part of the country and in every community everybody's business is usually public knowledge. This should not be a challenging environment for police investigations. We should not be experiencing this level of criminality. I have no problem praising police actions that are commendable. I have no doubt that many police are conscientious performers. However, we must also not be blind to the fact that the security situation in the country is deteriorating and the result achieved by the entire system is not acceptable. The Minister can no longer pretend that she has inherited a fully functioning and effective department. She must admit that it is broken and needs fixing. Like a new broom that sweeps clean, it is now incumbent upon her to be creative in finding solutions. Blaming the victim is not the answer. Yours faithfully, Sase Shewnarain