There is an old Trinidad saying that the police are the first judge and jury. The truth of this saying is demonstrated by the fact that if the police don’t charge you, you will not have to face a judge and jury.
The saying comes to mind when reading the message of the President that the public should not beat up on the police. It is his Excellency’s opinion that the police are being unfairly criticised for failing to do what they have been employed to do.
In fact, it simply confirms that it is easy to lose touch with the common man who is not protected by the protocols of high office and authority. The many people who have lost their relatives and friends in exchanges with the police have no one to speak out on their behalf, as the President appears to be doing for the police.
It has become the norm for people who are shot by police officers to be found in possession of a gun and one round of ammunition. Does that not seem strange? Even stranger is the tendency for such people to point the gun in the direction of the police without actually firing a shot.
Apropos of the meeting between the Government and the Opposition, the question may well be asked whether an Opposition which recently demitted office without making any impact on the crime situation really has any contribution to make now that they are out of office. The meeting is just another opportunity for the politicians to play themselves for public consumption and blame each other for not being able to do anything about the situation.
The Opposition is going to come out of the meeting expounding on all the plans that failed when they were in office and blaming the Government for not being able to do anything. The Government, on the other hand, will blame the people for not doing the police’s job and the blame sharing will continue as before.
Anyone who expects anything else is living in a dream world.
Karan Mahabirsingh
Carapichaima