This Government has made the bold move of having a state of emergency (SOE) proclaimed in order to send the most powerful message to the criminal element in the country that its nefarious activities will not be tolerated. That the country has for some time been under siege by wicked bandits and gang members who operate at all levels of the criminal ladder and have not yet been arrested and charged for the commission of their serious and violent crimes, must have set the stage for resort to the ultimate weapon in a crime war in which we are currently losing and losing miserably. So any law-abiding and right-thinking citizen should welcome the imposition of this draconian and necessary means to flush out the gangsters who for too long have managed to escape detection. And the fact that there have been missteps, miscommunication and misunderstanding in the initial stages of the operation is hopefully no indication that this valiant effort by the Government will amount to nothing more than a teacup in a criminal storm.
Asking answers
There is a lot that will have to be learned when this SOE is over but, until such time, we should not lose focus of the biggest picture which depicts a potentially brighter societal landscape in which there are significantly less drugs and guns on the streets and more high-powered criminals behind bars. The accusations levied against the Government that the call for the SOE was a knee-jerk reaction and as a result not well orchestrated, are matters that will undoubtedly be the subject of active debate in the Parliament next Friday. And active it will be because by the we would have been subjected to 12 days of the SOE and we would be better able to determine the status of the war. If we are still losing and no major strides have been made in infiltrating the enemy camps, then that will raise a hornet's nest of issues that will have to addressed. By no means am I suggesting that in the interim we should sit absolutely silent as the SOE takes its course but there will be a time to ask the pointed questions and to demand the truthful answers if we are really to assess the success of the initiative.
Doing things differently
I would never be so rude to state that the Government handled this SOE badly but I would have done some things differently in order for the SOE to have had greater effect. In my view, as harsh as it sounds, the SOE, once made public, should have been with immediate effect and not to come in force some hours after, giving the criminals sufficient time to scamper away with their booty and to store themselves and their items in safe and undisclosed locations until the SOE is over. As Leader of the Opposition Dr Rowley stated, the element of surprise was lost. In other words, the advantage was given to the side already winning the crime war. If the time allotted before the SOE took effect was to give the law-abiding public sufficient time for adjustment, while this may be considered an act of great courtesy, there is no place for politeness in this kind of war. The citizenry has been undergoing constant stress with respect to the crime crisis and the SOE, despite its inconvenience, if properly executed, could have the effect of allowing the population to breathe a sigh of relief, if even for a limited period. And yes, the curfew, as with the SOE, should have been applicable across the twin-island republic and not limited to designated areas because there should be no watering down of a measure upon which great reliance has been placed to win the war. If the SOE does not achieve its stated objective, there will be no solace in being assured that there are other plans or initiatives in the pipeline, for if the implementation of an SOE cannot do it for us, it is very unlikely that anything else will.
Past calls
There are several individuals, groups and institutions that in the past called for an SOE to be imposed in the fight against crime. In its interim report submitted in 2008, the Crime and Justice Commission (CJC) chaired by Justice Lionel Jones made the following observation: "The nation is under siege and criminal gang warfare is on the rise. The number of arms and ammunition that are in unlawful possession and so readily accessible to criminals is nothing short of alarming." It is no exaggeration to say that the situation which existed then which prompted the CJC to make the recommendation of a SO has worsened and so the imposition of the SOE in 2011 is a step in the right direction. The CJC made the further point: "Therefore, further mechanisms must be put in place during the SOE to ensure that the status quo has been changed in favour of law-abiding citizens once the SOE comes to an end." I take the opportunity to reinforce my position that there exist reports from several committees and commissions which contain crime-fighting initiatives and recommendations worthy of consideration by this regime and instead of reinventing the wheel, much greater will be achieved in reviewing the reports and implementing the measures which are deemed fit and proper to address the crime scourge.
A timely step
It is incumbent upon those responsible for making the decision to impose an SOE that all is done to make this measure successful. For many law-abiding citizens the SOE is viewed as the last hope and should it fail the Government will have on its hands a very despondent and dejected population. There is always inherent risk involved in the execution of a drastic move and so there is confidence that this regime used intelligence and reliable information to drive its decision otherwise there could be serious adverse repercussions. In the interim, I would strongly advise this Government to establish a team of SOE experts who could properly explain to the population the effect of the SOE as it relates to the rights, responsibilities and duties of citizens. Perhaps then we would not find people holding important offices speaking embarrassingly out of turn or singing painfully out of tune.