In times like these, it is important to reflect on those who came before us and worked towards building a better society. We did not get to this point because those who came before did not care, to the contrary, many of them gave us the best days of their lives fighting for what they know to be the right thing to do. It is unfortunate that where we stand today is at the crossroads of finding a character that we can establish to make this place a better. Judging by the those at the helm of our leadership in any given field, we do not see the next Mahatma Ghandi, we do not see the next Nelson Mandela, we do not see the next Martin Luther King, we do not see the next Marcus Garvey, we do not see the next Dr. Eric Williams and we certainly do not see the next Lionel Seukaran. In order for society to move forward, there must be a compass from which we get the sense of direction as a way forward to march towards a better society. Britain have come and gone (maybe), but we just cannot sit and keep lambasting her without reflecting on ourselves and depending on ourselves.

Each year we celebrate Independence without charting with the question – What has Independence done for us? We must gauge how we marched through from age to age and asked ourselves WHAT DID WE DO RIGHT AND WHERE HAVE WE GONE WRONG? If we do not ask the questions we will not get any answers. And it the answers that are most crucial to making the steps towards a better society that is important in this day and age. Take for example CRIME.

It is the most haunting behavior that we face today. We are consumed by the effects of what it is doing to our society. We do not feel safe in our homes, in our workplace and in public. The scourge of crime has taken away our best instincts because we are too afraid about where we can end up. Security Companies are flourishing in our midst as we see capitalism at its best, taking advantage of our fears. Everybody want their services. The are needed in our schools, in our hospitals, in our courts of justice, in our Parliaments, in our Libraries, in our department stores, in every strata of our society, YET? That is still not enough. You know why? Our security companies do not employ the best, they do not train the best, they do not care about national safety and the look for the most vulnerable among the poorest to staff themselves.

Governments too, don’t know which way is up in terms of how we arrest the scourge of crime. How we deal with the administration of the Defense Force, Police Service, Fire Services, marine services and security of the nation have more to do with the politics of the day than how to effectively ensure the security of the people from the savages of crime. It’s one thing to enact laws but another to ensure that the laws are being carried out with discipline and consequential actions. For example there was a big bruhaha about CCTV, yet when it was put into service and crimes committed, they could not see criminal nor could they arrest anyone that the CCTV was supposed to pick up. There is NO DISCIPLINE in how we use basic facilities. The streets are used for fetes with no time limit on when it is used and when it should be cleared. Venders ursurped the the use of the sidewalks with impunity. Merchants are not called upon to be responsible for their own actions. They litter our streets and then expect the municipality to clean it up for them.

Law enforcement is another story. Why can’t there be a Police Commissioner instead of the political tug-of-war as to who gets the opportunity to appoint one? When such applicants are earmarked, are we looking for the best candidates? Indiscipline is rife in the Police service and now the Defense Force because security and policing is no longer the modus operandi of our services. It has become more important to elect from (my race, my friend, my partisan, my class, my community) instead of looking for the very best there is. The other question is, where are the reforms set up for the re-introduction of the incarcerated to re-enter back into society? How do we manage and administer all local laws to keep our communities safe? Why can’t there be time limits for people to fete? ‘The Avenue’ can be a nice place to lime, but can’t there be a time to start (like say 7:00 pm and end like 2:00 am?). Why can’t the merchants be responsible for getting rid of their own garbage? Why haven’t the city set standards on what kind of containers the merchants use to store garbage?. There is a health issue there too. What about the safety of the neighbourhood? Why is not important to respect the quality of life the residents of the neighbourhood enjoy? Let the merchants pay for the presence of Police.

TAKE THE POLITICS OUT OF CRIME – It is my firm beliefs that were we to empty the administrative process from the politics that is so prevalent crime can be reduced. Is there any wonder it is so common to hear people wish “where is Randolph Burrows?”. This is not to say that Burrows had the best personal character but what people saw in him was a man of action who appeared (on the surface) to confront and destroy the criminals. That by no means is the best way in which he did it but people him as a man who was interested in getting things done AND HE WAS THE LAST PERSON TO DO IT. It is shameful to see the rate of crime detection. When we look at the TV and see in the Europe and the U.S a perpetrator is discovered within twenty four hours and here it takes twenty four years to find one it becomes sickening. What we should fight for is GETTING THE BEST TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS A BETTER PLACE – period!!!!!