The other plague

VIRUSES MUTATE and adapt. So does crime. The horrific murders of a sister and brother, the separate discovery of two decapitated bodies, the murder of a man in Claxton Bay, and the violent and dangerous confrontation that took the lives of three civilians this week – all are gruesome reminders that the State cannot afford to take its eye off the ball. Amid all that needs to be done to deal with the immediate needs of the population in this pandemic, the authorities must be prepared to go on the offensive to deal with new risks as they emerge.

It is important to take the long view. Only a few weeks ago, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith had cause to note a decrease in reports of murder and violent crimes. Though there have been some flagrant exceptions, the population has generally been disciplined when it comes to complying with edicts to stay home. According to Google’s aggregated mobility data, visits to recreational spaces dropped 70 per cent. With more people confined and a heightened police presence at night, the overall picture is one of a cooling down of violence.

Yet that picture could easily lead the authorities to overlook several hidden dangers. One of which has already been pinpointed by Griffith, who last month warned that the strategies of criminals could shift to robberies, burglaries, and break-ins of businesses. Though subject to ongoing investigation, the facts relating to the deadly home invasion in Couva on Thursday would appear to give currency to this notion.

Now is not the time for unforced errors. That means swiftly addressing the issues surrounding the exercise of police force which, yet again, has been brought into question because of the shooting deaths of civilians amid contentious reports this week. At a time when citizens, who have been asked to curtail their rights, are fearful of what is going on in the wider world, it is an unnecessary aggravation to have nebulous clouds lingering over agencies such as the entity known as the Special Operations Response Team (SORT).

We cannot forget that police are being asked to make tremendous sacrifices. To be fair, some of the successes during this period will simply be impossible to fully appreciate. An example is perhaps the arrest of a man on Thursday, by SORT, in relation to an alleged conspiracy to murder.

And how will police deal with crimes of passion and domestic violence that will undoubtedly affect more and more people the longer the lockdown continues? Before covid19, citizens had a key role to play within the criminal justice system by acting as eyes and ears. The same still applies.

It turns out crime, like covid19, is a sickness we can only fight together.