Commissioner of Police can learn from President Bukele

THE EDITOR: I read recently that Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher said that the police are in control.

However, she did not elaborate about what the police are controlling. If the police were controlling crime, then the ten murders over the last week would have been reduced to nil, but she and her police team are just spewing hogwash to the public.

She mentioned that drugs and guns play a role in the increase of violence but did not mention that the drugs and guns are entering via our coastal borders, which I think is the root cause for so many guns floating around.

So, why hasn’t Harewood-Christopher focused on the entry points? And both the commissioner and the Minister of National Security are blaming the US for manufacturing guns. They make guns but they don’t control the ports in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is a kind of deflection tactic to talk about crime control when the crime rate is raging past last year’s numbers. I believe she is only mamaguying us when she knows the real root cause is the open borders.

And if she hasn’t got a plan to abate crime, she should take a trip to El Salvador in Central America where she would be able to engage in talks with Nayib Bukele, a man who incarcerated 76,000 violent criminals, taking them off the streets and preventing them from murdering people.

El Salvador was once one of the deadliest places to visit or live, but today, because of President Bukele’s drastic and aggressive tactical approach, the country is seeing a beacon of hope.

In essence, I am urging the CoP to stop boasting and take drastic measures like Bukele did. He closed the revolving door and denied the criminals due process or legal representation. Now the streets are safer and people are happier.

It is in our best interest to invite Bukele to share his knowledge and tactics on how to deal with violent criminals. We are spinning top in mud and don’t seem to have new ideas or a different approach.

JAY RAKHAR

New York