“One less menace. Excellent job officers.”
That has become the common response on social media from members of the public to police-involved killings.
So far for the year there have been five shoot-outs between police and armed suspects resulting in the deaths of nine civilians. There have already been more than 50 murders for the year.
Psychologist Dr Varma Deyalsingh said these responses reflect a population who feels their “backs are against the wall”. He said the country has reached a boiling point in terms of the crime situation and people have lost confidence in the criminal justice system with all the delays in the court process and offenders being released on bail or freed because “evidence is not forthcoming.”
“So the fact is a lot of people find their backs against the wall and a lot of them have lost confidence in the judicial system. Some of them realise that the bandits have the upper hand where they keep getting away, so therefore you have that level of individuals who think the best way to get these bandits is out of circulation, so it is like a blood thirsty environment,” Dr Deyalsingh said.
“You have some citizens out there, they now think is our time now, is our time to get back at the bandit.”
He said some people have stopped questioning the killings and “now think that the police officers, if they are catching these bandits in these scenarios, they now give some sort of blessing to any sort of police killings. It is a justification in the minds of people, especially those who are victims of crime.”
However, on the flip side there are other members of the public who are worried that the country could turn into a police state.
“And this is the problem. Where you have a difficulty where police officers could be their own masters, it could be out of control where you reach that level where the police think it might be easier to take down a bandit then go through the whole process,” he said.
Independent Senator, Dr. Varma Deyalsingh, speaks during the debate on the Appropriation (Financial Year 2023) Bill, 2022 at the Sitting of the Senate yesterday.
OFFICE OF THE PARLIAMENT
Deyalsingh said with high powered weapons in the hands of criminals police lives are under threat and they have to defend themselves.
“The police are on the receiving end where they have AK rifles being shot at them and those weapons could penetrate the body armour. The police life is at risk,” he added.
How then do you get a balance? Deyalsingh believes body cameras for police officers is the answer.
“If police officers are going to the scene of a crime they have to have the cameras available, body cams. You go, you confront the bandits, the bandits shoot at you, nobody can have any dispute after that the police abused their power.
“As well, if the police come on the scene and do in fact start shooting at the bandits instead of apprehending them in a good manner. Instead of shooting them in the head you could shoot at different parts of the body and take them down. Body cams are very important.”
Last March, Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds announced that 1,160 body cameras would be purchased. Word from the T&T Police Service last week was that 900 body cams have so far been distributed throughout the nine policing divisions. The IATF, ERP, E99 and Traffic Branch also received body cams.
Chief Executive Officer of Vision on a Mission Giselle Chance said while police killings are of concern to her as someone responsible for rehabilitating ex-offenders, she believes the term police killings can cause the public to view those deaths in a way that may be unfair to law enforcement officers.
“You see individuals in this country who remain intent on conducting criminal activities, they must be made to feel the full brunt of the law specifically in those instances where there is an exchange of gun fire with the police,” she said.
“Persons are fearful. They are hurting because of the increased crime rate and the fact that some citizens have reached a point where they seem to prefer the police kill criminals rather than have them apprehended says to me that much, much more has to be done in addressing in issue of crime.”
Chance said part of her organisation’s role is to make appropriate interventions where they can so that “these unfortunate killings” might be prevented.
She added that while a lot is being done to steer young people away from crime, one of the main challenges is getting them to see the value of accessing educational courses and skilled training.
Giselle Chance, CEO Vision on a Mission.
Chance suggested that the marketing strategy might have to be improved, but admitted that this might not be easily achieved because of a pervasive subculture among some young people, including borderline syndrome where gang turf wars prevent some of them from taking advantage of opportunities for education and employment.
“Additionally, this subculture is one that has embraced an alternative value system where crime or a gangster lifestyle does pay. It does pay for some of these young men and especially for those who continue to evade arrest and are not convicted in a timely manner for their crimes,” she said.
To deter young people from committing crime, she said the number of arrests and convictions of criminals must be increased. There must also be a comprehensive analysis of the core issues that perpetuate criminal activity so a proper plan can be developed and executed.
Chance also wants to see more emphasis placed on social programmes and support systems for “individuals who have a tendency to offend or re-offend.”
She also noted that drug abuse and mental health challenges are two major underlining factors that can contribute to criminal behaviour and recommended that effectively-run state-funded drug rehabilitation facilities be established on both islands along with a public education campaign highlighting mental health issues and its link to criminal behaviour.
“I am strongly advocating that the prison be given adequate funding to conduct its programmes so that the interventions that are necessary to take place within the prison can be achieved,” she said.
Chance recommended that programmes such as her organisation’s Preparation for Release, which is specifically targeted to inmates due for release within 24 months, should be mandatory.