No quick fix for crime crisis

INDUSTRIAL Court president Deborah Thomas-Felix said the country requires more than a legislative quick fix to address the crime crisis.

Thomas-Felix made the comments during her address at the inauguration of the Police Social and Welfare Association Executive Committee 2019-2022 last Wednesday at the Police Training Academy, St James.

"These are challenging and troubling times for members of the police service and indeed for all citizens of our beloved twin-island state," she said. "As we continue to recoil in horror and try to make sense of the escalating violence and mayhem which has enveloped our country–the brutal and savage murders leave us with a sense of helplessness and fear. The deep sense of paralysis which comes with helplessness and fear cannot augur well for any country’s development."

She said although many murders are reported daily in the media, and quite recently 24 murders were reported in one week, the country must not ignore the prevalence of armed robbery, robbery with violence, wounding, larceny, praedial larceny, possession and trafficking of narcotics, domestic violence and a host of vehicular offences/infractions.

"Without doubt symptoms of this pervasive lawlessness demonstrate emphatically that we are in crisis."

Thomas-Felix said the task of the police has become herculean in these times of increased violent crime, cyber-crime, fraud, and domestic violence.

"In my humble view, there is need for a comprehensive and thorough overhaul of the criminal justice system in the country."

She said the overhaul cannot involve a quick fix in the judiciary, nor a patchwork approach in the police system, but a total reform of the criminal justice system, which should include reforming and strengthening the police service, including the police armoury, the prison service, forensic science centre, customs and excise and the judiciary.

She also said the approach to crime must be executed with a degree of certainty and there must be certainty of detection, evidence-gathering, judicial hearings and certainty of outcomes in a timely manner.

"Those who are the perpetrators of both serious and minor crimes must know that there are timely and effective consequences to their deviant actions."

She stressed that no quick legislative fix will suffice, as the laws of a country are only as good as society’s capacity to enforce them.