T&T needs to unite against crime

Not much has changed from a year ago when, in response to a call made by President Christine Kangaloo at the opening of Parliament, the Government and Opposition made half-hearted efforts to hold talks on the country’s crime crisis.

Today, the country is as divided as ever, criminals continue to plunder, abduct and shed blood, and the T&T Police Service (TTPS) has not improved its abysmal detection rate.

This time last year, the main news headlines were about the bickering and haggling between the two main political sides, with neither able to agree on terms and conditions for the dialogue. The process stalled and fizzled with the Opposition then embarking on a series of anti-crime consultations with the public that may have earned them some political mileage but very little in terms of practical solutions to the problem.

Opposition representatives have become very proficient at casting all the blame for the bloodshed on their political rivals. In response, the Government deflects and dodges, all to the benefit of the criminals.

The failure of T&T’s elected representatives to set aside their differences and make a genuine attempt at bipartisanship, even with the country deeply mired in violence and bloodshed, is disappointing and disturbing.

The crime problem is severe and demands mature, civil dialogue among our legislators and key decision-makers, a meeting of minds and firm action. Instead, citizens continue to be subjected to petty, political bickering.

This is a nation now firmly trapped in a culture of violence. Gang and gender-based violence are the most common but other forms pervade this small and divided society, contributing to an ever-increasing body count.

The murder toll was approaching 500 as of yesterday and with 77 days left in the year, seemed likely to surpass the record 605 murders recorded in 2022. The homicide rate, currently at around 26 per 100,000 people, seems racing toward a new record high.

That alone should be a signal to the PNM and UNC that it can no longer be political business as usual.

This is a population that has become so numb to the daily slaughters that only the most gruesome now elicit public outcries.

That was the case a week ago, when Tara Ramsaroop and her one-year-old daughter Shermaya Motilal were chopped to death. There were also strong reactions of anger and horror following the murder of maxi taxi driver Laura Sankar at her Princes Town home on Sunday.

These tragedies, and all the others that have occurred this year, have become opportunities for photo ops and sound bytes for those in political office but they do not deter the criminals.

In the absence of firm political action on crucial pieces of legislation, loopholes in laws and deficiencies in the criminal justice system leave gangsters free to execute their criminal rivals and women and children at the mercy of violent abusers.

The failure of T&T’s elected representatives to close the political gap and work toward consensus on anti-crime measures, and their inability to put country before party speaks volumes.

There is still time before the country records another grim milestone for a genuine effort at cooperation. However, a united front against the criminals is the best way to reclaim the safety and security T&T urgently needs.

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