If there is one issue on which we all agree, it is that the crime level in our beloved country is unacceptable. We all recognise that the detection rate is abysmally low. In hope, we gravitate towards the 6 pm rival television shows which give the illusion of performance in solving crime, where child maintenance defaulters become “Most Wanted Criminals” and debt collection becomes a criminal matter.
Meanwhile, a cry rises from numerous quarters for the public to report crimes that they witness and a popular slogan becomes, “If you see something, say something.”
But why are people reluctant to say something, when they see something? The reasons vary and are based on personal experiences of reporting crime, stories told by friends, relatives and colleagues of their forays into crime reporting and media reports.
The result is that civic-minded citizens believe that the police will do nothing with the information given to them, or will betray their trust deliberately or carelessly. I will give some examples of this.
In a case of armed robbery, the teenager, who pleaded guilty, gave a statement to the police. In the statement, he named the man from whom he had rented the gun, his address and the cost of rental, ($5). He even stated that the man had said he did not like to rent him guns because he “doh bring profits but does wastes bullets.”
Several months after the trial, the police had done nothing with that information. A senior officer shared with me his frustration with police apathy.
The late Archbishop Pantin once related that, having received information about drug dealing, he promptly called Police Headquarters and relayed this information. Shortly after he put down the phone, he received a threatening phone call. With apologies to Cypher, one might very well ask, “If the priest could (be) play (ed), who is we?”
Some witnesses who “said something” have been killed with impunity. Stories from the witness protection programme do not offer much comfort. The 800 number is not ringing off the hook. Crimestoppers are not overworked.
With regard to carelessness with information, I wonder why the police often give out such detailed information to the press, that the informant is easily identifiable. Surely, they must realise that they are exposing the informant to retaliatory action.
We need to fix the police service. Apart from weeding out corrupt officers, (and I still have faith that they are in the minority), there is need to examine the reasons the police seem demotivated.
We long for them to return to the days when they used to solve crimes. I remember being recalled to a police station a mere two hours after reporting a crime. When I complimented the investigating officer, he said that the suspect, whose modus operandi he had recognised, had recently been released from prison. After his conviction, my neighbour drew my attention to the fact that in the newspaper photo, the burglar was wearing her husband’s shoes.
We have a better-educated police service, why aren’t they performing at a higher level? What needs to happen to boost their morale and restore public confidence in the police? Would appointing a substantive police commissioner help? If so, we need to get on with that job and quickly.
Hazel Thompson-Ahye