A bad end

WE ARE ending the year where we began with concern over crime. We ask yet again: is enough being done to keep guns off the streets?

A lot of measures and initiatives have been implemented in relation to the criminal justice system. Powers have been given to law enforcement, legislation passed. The courts are due to be decongested with the discharge of minor marijuana offences, and time-wasting preliminary inquiries are set to go.

The perennial debate over bail measures continues to rage, with deep disagreement over the extent of the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. We keep hearing about gangs and how they are being identified and tracked, and yet they still seem to have a hold on streets, neighbourhoods, towns.

Police officers, too, are under attack.

When will this end?

It does not make sense pointing fingers at politicians, activists and critics if we’re not getting results. The real people to blame are the ones pulling the trigger. What is being done to take their weapons away?

At the same time, there have been instances of success and we must not lose sight of that. High-profile raids and arrests have been made and people are before the courts. Convictions have also been secured in long-pending cases, but even legal questions over the implementation of capital punishment remain.

Focusing on the positive is a good way to maintain hope and to inspire confidence.

This year the State sent a signal that it is not going to simply throw money at the crime problem and is going to look equally for managerial nous to bring about results. In this regard, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith has a challenge of converting the confidence members of the public have in him into the fulfilment of expectations.

While it’s important to hold our public officials to account, it’s also equally important for us to remember that crime is as much a social matter as it is a national security concern.

In this regard, communities have a role to play in coming forward and assisting police with investigations, whether through crucial tips, witness testimony, or civic engagement with vulnerable people who are likely to be recruited to a life of crime.

The Christmas season is a good time to remember those who may be tempted to turn away from the law to pursue material gain by dubious means, motivated by a sense of anger, frustration, desperation or sheer hunger. How do we help such people and give them the tools they need to become productive, law-abiding citizens? Do we do this by turning a blind eye? By demonising them? Or must we temper firmness with empathy?

As we count down the days to 2020, once a symbolic year in terms of our development goals, these are some of the things we need to think about.