Friday, August 14 2009

Of the multitude of violent crimes wracking our country, three especially warrant some different form of investigation than what has been reported to date.

The most serious of these, because of what it portends, is the recent discovery of a quantity of arms, ammunition and drugs “secured” in the ceiling space at the St Joseph Police Station. It is being suggested — and we are being cautious in how we express this — that the guns and drugs were there for selling or renting to criminals. For how long, we must wonder, have these items been stored there, and what crimes were committed with the weapons? And where did the weapons come from? Had they been seized by police when making arrests, and instead of being recorded, marked and secured as required, were secreted away for ongoing “business”?

The transfer of close to 40 officers to other parts of the country gives the impression of the Police Service “taking action”. But what will this do to further the investigations into who placed these items in the office ceiling? Indeed it raises the question that the Police Service is simply “spreading the problem” to other stations. How does transferring officers deal with this problem? And what is happening to the existing work at the St Joseph Station? Did the transferred officers get to brief the incoming officers?

Already the public is expressing the view that nothing will come out of the investigations. Can the police, and the Ministry of National Security redeem themselves?

Then we have the brutal cutlass attack upon two visitors to Tobago. There has been a strange reaction by the residents of Argyle to the arrest of a suspect — who has since been charged with the offence. Protestors have gathered outside the courthouse, claiming the suspect is innocent and the true assailant is still at large. This is an unusual response to a major case of violence, and indeed more unusual given that it is happening in Tobago, a place where emotion does not generally rule protestors’ agendas.

A serious side effect of these protests is the slant that foreign media may attribute to the action. This could become a story of “locals” rising in protest over the arrest of a local criminal charged with attacking “foreigners”.

Finally, for the time being, we have the case of the two Chinese citizens being attacked and robbed in a casino in Woodbrook. Several questions need to be asked about this incident.

It was several days after the attack before the men’s names were released. Up to Wednesday morning, the men had not been “officially interviewed” by the police. The reason for this lack of investigation is said to be the lack of an interpreter to assist the police. Yet the Chinese Embassy and the local Chinese Association were both able to issue public expressions of concern. So how come they could not supply an interpreter to assist? The men who were beaten were allegedly robbed of over $20,000. These men have been described as cooks. And were these men here on work permits, or were they just “here”.

And finally, how come there is no comment from any manager or owner of this casino where such a crime took place? We presume there is a licensed owner.

The questions arising on these incidents give us doubt as to their eventual resolution.