Abdulah: Crime is a public policy crisis

MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah declared that crime in Trinidad and Tobago is a public policy crisis.

He said this crisis has been nurtured by successive governments and elite members of society since TT gained independence in 1962. Abdulah blamed all of these individuals for contributing to the levels of rampant crime in TT today.

During a virtual news conference on Sunday, Abdulah said, "The problem of crime and violence in our society is because for many, many years. we have been sowing the wind and we are now reaping the whirlwind.

Referring to the two-day Caricom special symposium which opens in Port of Spain on Monday, Abdulah said, "Crime is not a public health crisis but it is a crisis of public policy."

He added that crisis has affected TT and many other Caricom countries for decades.

Abdulah recalled that many of the problems contributing to crime and violence in the region were identified in the West Indian Commission's "Time for Action" report in 1991.

He lamented that 30 years later, none of TT's governments have acted on any of the matters raised in that report.

Chief among them, Abdulah continued, are failed education systems in the region.

He said in TT, the education system jhas been failing approximately 40 to 50 per cent of students for decades.

Abdulah lamented that these are the students are among the young people who are denied opportunities to find decent jobs or own their own homes, leading them towards a life of crime.

He said failed economic policies by all governments in TT, have denied generations of people the opportunity to improve themselves.

Abdulah also said many people forget that many countries in the region, including TT, was founded on a culture of violence in colonial times.

This culture was fostered by factors such as slavery, indentureship and racism

Even when Caribbean countries gained independence, Abdulah said, "The culture of violence has never fully left our society."

He claimed the PNM and UNC never did anything to eliminate this culture because it helped them politically.

Abdulah slammed members of the business community and other elite groups in TT for remaining silent for years about crime.

He said this silence was because these groups where never impacted by things like broken education and criminal justice systems. Abdulah found it interesting that these groups were now speaking out because crime was affecting them directly now.

He observed various calls from different people for a state of emergency and more guns for certain people to protect themselves against criminals.

Abdulah said those calls are simply "borne out of desperation."

He added, "Desperation does not lead to proper solutions to deal with crime and violence."

Abdulah said desperation being felt by people who are worried about crime, attracts opportunists who are eager to profit at their expense.

"We warn against citizens being caught up by persons who are offering solns that seem to capture the moment of people's desperation."

He said people should reject anyone offering them greater access to guns because those kinds of societies are more violent.

Abdulah claimed that the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar are bereft of any ideas to reduce crime.

He added that the former only wants to stay in power while the latter only wants to get back into power.

Abdulah then offered some solutions which the MSJ believes can reduce crime.

They include radical reforms of the education and criminal justice systems; powers of investigation to the Financial Intelligence Unit to investigate white collar crime; greater intelligence by the police, Defence Force and Strategic Services Agency to curtail criminal gang activity and greater investment in creative arts and sport to give young people opportunities for positive development and out of a life of crime.