A start by stopping

A roadblock is nobody's idea of a good way to spend time while driving, so it's probably a compelling indicator of the public's impatience with rising crime that a series of vehicle screenings and searches on July 18 drew near unequivocal praise, even from drivers stuck in the ensuing traffic.

TT Chamber president Kiran Maharaj and Couva Chamber president Deoraj Mahese both saluted the police action, noting the importance of visible police intervention against crime.

Mode Alive CEO Gary Aboud acknowledged business slowdowns, noting that, "Roadblocks may not agree with commerce, but commerce is being killed by crime."

Deputy commissioner of police for operations Junior Benjamin described the coordinated roadblock strategy as an exercise to raise visibility while examining criminal trends.

The screening exercise followed a bloody weekend that recorded 19 murders and led to 113 arrests. Officers also seized seven firearms, including two AR-15 assault rifles and 387 rounds of ammunition, most of it 5.56 military grade bullets.

It was quite a haul, but it's unlikely to be as successful again. Roadblocks are most effective when deployed to address a specific purpose and if anything, they are only underutilised in stopping drunk driving at its source, people leaving fetes and popular late night liming spots.

Officers shouldn't be too quick to rest on the laurels of last week's limited success. Criminals are demonstrably not stupid and will deploy their own early warning systems in response to the roadblock strategy.

Mr Benjamin is correct to pursue a strategy of higher visibility for officers, but the big splash of multiple roadblocks must be abandoned in favour of the more incremental, sustainable systems of continuously patrolling neighbourhoods, building a more intimate presence for officers on duty and improving their intuition about the dynamics of the communities they serve.

Did any officer know 17-year-old Jerome Joseph who was found murdered the day after the roadblock exercise? Originally from Diego Martin, the young man apparently moved to Nelson Street following his cousin in search of the bad man's life.

He found it in a stairwell of building 44-46 of the Nelson Street Planning.

Until police officers and the society they represent are established as a valued presence in all our communities, including those identified as hotspots, the lure of an easy life and fraternity offered by gangs will continue to attract the most vulnerable of our young people.

Thursday's exercise was one of enforcement, but the Police Commissioner must amplify the engagement of officers beyond that.

The police service, working in tandem with the ministries of Social Development and Local Government must collaborate on tip-of-the-spear strategies to reintroduce civil society values to children tempted by warped virtues and transient pleasures.

That's always going to be harder than randomly stopping cars.