Crime…again
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008I‘m telling you this crime situation has turned into a comedy of errors. First (If we can call it first) 388 people were murdered last year. Next Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Jack Warner get together to hire a team of private security guards to protect the people of Macaulay village who have been plagued by criminals. Then the people who came out in such hoards to denounce the “vigilantism” has the rest of us asking, do these people have any idea what vigilantism actually is?
Speaking for myself, I see nothing wrong with the measures undertaken my Warner and Maharaj. If the people of Macaulay village are under siege then by all means they are to have security. I’m jealous of them as I assume all other non-gated communities around Trinbago are. Yet, we do understand that private security officers don’t have all the same powers a police officer has. They don’t have the power to kick a handcuffed suspect and they probably can’t laugh at an abused husband - I mean these guys could get fired for something like that. Other than that they are more or less just like our regular cops but with vehicles.
But vigilantism? Brigid Anisette George and her cohorts seem intent on disagreeing for the the sake of disagreeing. Saving face is what we used to call it but I’m not sure how much face you can save after presiding over a record murder rate. However while the critics were yet in mid sentence, the star of the show, the Prime Minister himself Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning spits in their faces and goes and hires private security to replace most of the Special Branch officers that used to guard him. What a move!
Now I supported commissioner Trevor Paul against people who were criticizing him for going to an Old Year Night fete with his wife. My position was this: his going to a Old Year’s Night fete wasn’t going affect the crime situation for better or for worse. If he wants to go, then let him go. Plus the man has free time to use as he chooses. Is he not allowed to have a social life because of the crime situation? It just isn’t an issue with me. But then with a master stroke, Commissioner Paul launches Operation “No Sports”. Finally deciding he’d had enough with all those officer/athletes, Commissioner Paul decides that he’s going to reel in the entire offending lot of them. Look at them, with their time management skills, fit bodies, alert minds, leadership and teamwork skills and goal setting abilities - a pretty revolting group if you ask me. No wonder the police commissioner was sick of them; they were dragging the Police Service of Trinidad and Tobago into good repute. He had to reel them in. Athlete/officers operate as a rogue group within the TTPS. Sooner or later they are bound to infect the whole lot. Sooner or later their endorphin highs were going to get someone saved out there. Commissioner Paul wasn’t going to let that happen - not on his watch. I say keep the TTPS pure.
Lastly, did I hear last night on the news that Trevor Paul said that he was willing to work with the private security guards that Ramesh and Jack hired? This, even after he called the move to hire private security inept? Hmmm. Sounds like foot-in-mouth to me.
