As the murder count nears 500 for the year, religious organisations and criminologists are raising their voices in support of President Christine Kangaloo and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s attempt to take charge of the spiralling crime crisis.
Speaking to Guardian Media via phone yesterday, Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Vijay Maharaj said he was ready to see some action take place now.
Maharaj said, “I agree with both the President and the Prime Minister at this point. Maybe I could add that I would love to see some kind of results, maybe a little too fast and greedy, but I would love to see some action take place ... I think we have manpower that we can start to arrest the situation that it has reached at this point.”
The head of the local Anglican church said the diocese supports having additional resources deployed to assist with crime.
Also speaking to Guardian Media via phone, Bishop Claude Berkley said people have become hesitant to attend church services or participate in activities.
“With this upsurge and ongoing murder rate, people are unwilling to come out late or very early in the morning ... It does affect the movement and the willingness of people to venture out even matters like visitation. You have some challenges there visiting your own people and by extension other persons as you do your evangelistic work,” he said
While religious leaders praised calling out Volunteer Defence Force troops, some criminologists are questioning how much authority the soldiers would have and their effectiveness.
Criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad said, “I am in support of utilising the Defence Force, but I think it has to be done in such a way that’s more meaningful and more extensive. My suggestion would be to provide the additional training that they may need which may expose them to all the types of things that police officers are privy to.”
Meanwhile, criminologist Dr Wendell Wallace said while he supports it, long-term solutions to crime should be the focus.
“The added amount of soldiers on the ground, to me, is certainly beneficial. The more law enforcement or the more deterrent factors we have out there, it certainly would work. But I want to caution that this measure should be seen as a short-term measure and when you’re looking at crime and the fight against crime you need longer-term measures. You need a cultural change,” Wallace said.