For yet another week, the country has been rocked by several murders and crimes which continue to terrify law-abiding citizens and diminish their sense of safety and security.
Not only did the week begin with the senseless murder of a nine-year-old boy, killed while playing at a recreation ground, but citizens were also baffled by the ghastly murders of two men, who were found cut up and their body parts dumped in a river in Cunupia.
So depraved were those killings that seasoned investigators and mortuary attendants were left sickened to their stomachs by what they witnessed, too graphic to even print.
Yesterday, a three-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman were among four shot dead as a gunman or gunmen sprayed bullets at a car in which they were travelling in Diego Martin, most likely targeting the male occupants.
Not only are the types of homicides frightening but the reasons are also quite alarming.
Disputes with neighbours have ended in violent deaths and rows over a rampaging cow and a parking spot have led to bloodshed, with children forced to confront life without their fathers and families left in distress and torn apart.
The frequency of home invasions is also growing without any sign of abating. So too is the brutality when this type of crime occurs.
Pensioners who thought they were in the safety of their homes have been beaten, held hostage and tortured.
Yet despite all of this, there is little outcry. Those in authority do not appear to be incensed by these incidents and the loss of life and very little is being heard about any plans to curtail the crime wave clearly sweeping the country.
The 2023 Budget was staunchly defended by Government parliamentarians, who called for sacrifice, a return to coal pots and bikes and even those who likened the Prime Minister to the Archangel Michael. But yet there remains radio silence from political leaders about the almost daily carnage and malfeasance taking place.
No words of comfort or solace are being offered to those grieving and traumatised by crime.
On July 3, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley mentioned consideration was being given to declaring crime a public health emergency. Mere weeks later on July 18, he noted the “dramatic escalation in violent crime” and officially declared crime a public health emergency. He revealed that the State would be operationalising a response with an action plan in the coming months.
It is now October and the country deserves an update and must be told what will be done to take us on a path to restoring some semblance of safety among the citizenry.
For this month alone, over 40 murders were recorded and with the murder count at 487, fears that it could pass the 500 mark are becoming more and more realistic.
Decisive action must be taken before the crime crisis gets even worse. As the country celebrates Divali today, we are desperately in need of light in this ever-growing darkness of rampant crime across the nation.
