The crime problem

Who feels safe anywhere anymore, at any time? Any Guyanese, outside of those with layers of bodyguards, an array of surveillance equipment, and warning systems, who feelssafeshouldstepforwardandencourageotherGuyanese withtheirconfidence,andthereasonsthatmakethatpossible.

With crime an uncertain quantity, and citizens unsure of whose story to rest their trust in, it would help to comfort those who do not feel so confident about their safety. The Guyana Police Force has pointed to its statistics, and they indicate a downward spiral in some categories of criminal activity, particularly those labeled ‘serious crimes.’ The disconnectisthatwhatisconsideredtobeaminorcrime(less thanserious)toGuyana’sleadingcrimefightinginstitutionis whatisfearedand,hence,serioustothemanandwoman(and child) who have to walk the streets feeling naked and vulnerable.

This is in the daylight, and with plenty of other citizens milling about, walking around, or on the move. To take out and talk on one’s cellphone is to take a risk, or at least this is the wariness, the hesitancy, of the unsteadiness of strength, the lack of confidence-inducing substances. It does not matterthatthecellphonemaybeofacheapervariety,thereis theconcernaboutusingitinpublic.

Who is watching, could be waiting to pounce? Which innocent looking fellow customer stands ready to relay some intelligence (description, observation, activity, and conclusion) to their waiting partners in crime, when a citizen does business at a bank, or a store? How about the marketplace, where much smaller sums are involved, and very few shoppers, if any, walk around with a bundle of cash orjewelry?

Thisisthenervousnessthatbedevilstheunsuspecting,the careless, and the alert, and those who do not fall into any of thoseroughandreadyclassifications. Whenthenormsofthe day deteriorate to this state of ongoing anxieties, then where are we really with crime, comforting statistics and all, and accepting them as they are provided? And with acknowledgment of the efforts of the law enforcement agents? The concern and the question linger, would not go away, diminish: who feels safe? Who trusts their streets, be theyincityorvillage,closebyoroutoftheway?

Law abiding citizens sitting in their cars, minding their business, focused on their priorities, do not take their safety for granted. Truth be told, many are on edge, with road madness at terrifying heights, and the lurking never out of internalradarsandsensitivities.

Abumpcoulddegradeintoaverbalbrawl,ascratchintoa long running wound. Papers shared are discovered later to be fake, crimes like these multiply outside the official reports (the now so-called ‘private matter’, as officially declared), butwithcostlydamagestillinflictedonpropertyandpsyche. Mostly, crimes like these do not count, the problem of the citizen so violated, so abused, so at a loss in more ways than one. Itisjustthenatureofthelocalterrain.

InotherGuyaneseavenues,citizensabsorbtherantingsof political leaders, especially ruling ones, and they shrink in fear Thesemenhavelimitlesspower,theintimidationfactor onthesurface,drippingwithmenace. Onepoliticianisproud to assume perpetually a wrestler’s stance, with words to matchforthosewhocrosshispath.

To stretch things a bit, if an ordinary citizen were to project such hostility, there would be cries about aggressiveness and dangerousness, and the rest. There are these verbal incitements, from which supporters take their cue,bidetheirtimetolashout,whichiswhysocialmedia,and thelocalenvironmentissosaturatedwiththevile.

Then there are white collar crimes, a daily occurrence in Guyana, from top to middle to bottom. In public service Guyana,beitelectedorselected,Guyanesearebeingroasted overaspitandstrippedofthelittlethattheyhave. Itiscalled a bribe, a toll, a gratuity, or a paydown or kickback. In Guyana, crime is now almost a right, an ideal, a culture justified by politicians and public servants. Law-abiding citizensloseeachtime.