Israel Khan knocks PM's call for collective action against crime

OUTSPOKEN senior attorney Israel Khan, SC, has knocked the Prime Minister’s statement on the crime situation plaguing the country.

In a post at midnight, on the Office of the Prime Minister’s Facebook page, Dr Rowley expressed deep disappointment over the persistent high levels of violent crime, noting that for the second consecutive year, over 600 murders have been recorded.

He said there was an urgent need for a united, multi-faceted approach to combat what he described as a "major public health issue."

However, Khan, who is also head of the Criminal Bar Association, described the Prime Minister’s statement as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the unprecedented crime levels, particularly murders.

“It is outrageous and the only saving grace is that he possibly admitted that the government has failed to stop the crime, especially murders.

“He is scapegoating everybody for the atrocious state and crime in the country…He is saying the police are not doing enough and should work harder, so he is blaming the police, despite giving them resources. He blames the family and relatives of criminals for harbouring criminals, blaming the Judiciary for not giving convicted criminals maximum sentences.

“But he is not openly admitting that he as head of Cabinet and National Security Council has failed miserably in order to protect the citizens of the country by devising or procuring appropriate crime-fighting plans.

“He has told the nation he is not responsible for solving the problems of crime and murders and it is not his duty to keep the public safe. He said that it was the police's remit and not his.”

Khan also referred to a statement by National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds on the TV6’s Morning Edition programme in February 2022, when he said it was not his “duty to ensure that people feel safe and secure.”

Hinds said, “My duty is to ensure that those organisations and agencies that are responsible for the public’s safety, border security, that they are clear about what the...government’s policy is, that they are provided with the resources that they need, and that I lend encouragement and general support to them. That’s my duty.”

Khan said, “His minister of national security openly stated, in a boldface manner, that it is not his duty to keep the citizenry safe.

“They (the government) are of the view that they are not in charge and just give them (the police) the money.”

However, he said under the Constitution, it was up to the Executive to devise plans and policies. "The Minister of Health, the Minister of Works and Transport and the Minister of Education would have plans for their sectors, so how the hell the Minister of National Security can watch us in our faces and say it is not their duty to have a plan?”

Khan said what the Prime Minister and the National Security Minister have admitted was that in their nine years in power, “They have no plan.”

He accused Rowley of only being interested in the title of prime minister and the perks that go with the office.

Describing Rowley as a “house slave,” Khan also accused the government of treating citizens “as slaves in the field.”

“How can he say he is not responsible for devising crime plans?”

Earlier this month, Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine drew the ire of historians for his description of the Prime Minister as a "house slave."

Augustine's comment came after the Tobago Self-Government Bill failed in Parliament.

In his December 27 statement on crime, the Prime Minister called on law enforcement agencies to enhance their detection capabilities, urging the police to "make the criminals uncomfortable with penetrating detection methods."

He also appealed to the justice system to prioritise firm punishment over leniency for offenders, asserting criminals should not be treated as victims.

Contacted for comment on the Prime Minister’s remarks on the justice system, Law Association president Lynette Seebaran-Suite said LATT’s council would have to have a discussion, and that she had passed Newsday's request to the council.