Help police fight crime

So the government is bringing back the Bail (Amendment) Act 2019, asking for an extension beyond the three-year sunset clause.

The amendment requires a three-fifths majority in either House. Last July, the amendment was defeated in the Senate (18-11, one abstained) when five of nine independent senators joined the six opposition senators. The government expects to present a fresh case this time. Will it succeed?

Have the circumstances of policing, crime, public safety and public concerns changed? Has the political or legislative climate changed? Have such things changed in favour of the government, opposition, police, criminals or the public?

It seems to have changed in favour of the criminals, and is very damaging to public peace and comfort.

Standing in the middle and taking six steps away from the contestations, I see the serious crime situation – in particular, murders, organised home invasions, fatal shootings, etc – getting worse, with public fears escalating into helpless desperation. Should the Opposition support the bail amendment?

The public mood has changed. In times of such desperation, the public becomes prepared to accept harsh measures against crime and criminals. Citizens are even prepared to tolerate a softening of the “innocent until proven guilty” principle. From what is being said by voices across the nation, citizens believe this tolerance is justified.

This is the psychological landscape, the context, in which this bail amendment now finds itself. Since crime and public safety have become squeezed by politics, it is important to understand how the population feels, and the extent to which hard-line policies and stiff penalties, even temporary ones, now satisfy them. I myself, sensing public dangers and fears and my own increased uneasiness, have shifted my professional views.

Such popular accommodation is also part of democracy, as troubling as it may be to absolute rules.

Why the crime situation was allowed to become so deadly serious is, of course, another, related matter. But today, it is frightening.

Just last week, in broad daylight a home invasion took place near my home, when three bandits with guns pushed at a lady’s face ordered her to open the door. She bravely sped off and, pregnant as she was, scaled a wall behind her house.

This is by no means an isolated incident. Read or hear the daily news. Three such armed home invasions recently took place in what used to be a quiet residential area for hard-working, lawful citizens. One victim died as a result of the shocking invasion. Such incidents cannot be ignored. Communities are being destroyed.

The country’s crime rate, especially the escalating rate of murders and house invasions, is accompanied by a deleterious level of public fear with serious social, economic and psychological consequences. And of course, the government, Parliament and law enforcement agencies are under widespread public pressure from business organisations, political parties, professional groups and citizens scared behind locked doors.

Seizure of illegal firearms is a step towards controlling serious crime and murders. Last week, the PM disclosed police data showing the large number of illegal firearms seized – 4,000 in 60 months! For the 2015-2020 period, there were almost 1,800 firearm-related murders. Former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi noted 628 “gang murders” in 2015-2019, a figure that continues to increase.

All this cannot be ignored. Every one now feels he or she would be the next victim. Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob also provided further frightening statistics on gun-related murders and house-breakings.

He pleads to give the police “a chance” by passing the Bail (Amendment) Act. The previous police commissioner also strongly called for and supported this amendment. Today, as a “good faith” compromise, the Opposition should support the amendment, but with conditionalities, for example, with benchmarked results and without “losing face.”

This will be a reasonable response to public fears – a people-friendly gesture. Repeat criminals with a history of murderous gun violence in particular must be treated accordingly now. Give the police this limited but helpful chance to show results.

The major thrust of the bill is to deny bail up to 120 days for people charged with a listed set of serious offences, including firearm possession and use, and people previously convicted of an offence carrying an imprisonment term of ten years or more. Help the police fight crime.