Monday, November 2 2009

Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner said Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert’s plan to have high-risk prisoners wear bullet-proof vests, was just a knee-jerk reaction to one problem.

Warner said this would have no long term effect on solving the nation’s crime problems.

In a statement, Warner said the plan while having few merits, does not address several issues which are at the heart of the crime problem. He said prisoners would now have access to bulletproof vests to use in future crimes.

“Bulletproof vests may stop a bullet that is fired at a witness or accused, but it does not address the root problem, which is the easy availability of guns and ammunition, and the boldness of the criminal element to launch attacks on under-resourced policemen,” Warner said.

He said the problem instead stems from the police’s inability to effectively and efficiently do their jobs, because of neglect and not being given the basic and modern resources to function properly.

On the issue of weapons for Court and Process officers, Warner said over the past ten years numerous proposals for non-lethal weapons have been submitted to the Police Service and the Ministry of National Security.

He accused the government of not wanting to embrace modern technology, which he said was standard practice in developed countries.

“In these countries non-lethal weapons are carried by officers who also carry lethal weapons providing an alternative or choice to the officer who may need to use a weapon but not wanting to kill or seriously injure the suspect.” The solution to the nation’s crime epidemic lies with the marriage of the social programme with law enforcement, he said.

“The social programme must provide meaningful opportunities to persons who wish to live decent law abiding lives — law enforcement requires the provision of adequate relevant and necessary resources.”