by Jerome Pinder
The daily headlines continue to report on violent crimes, the most recent is Saturday’s headline (June 19th): “Homicide count hits 41 after man shot dead.
Prior to this disturbing headline, the Minister of National Security gave us an update on the status of our judicial system. It appears that every time the Minister speaks publicly about crime or our judicial system, he brings embarrassment to the current administration. We have 252 persons awaiting murder trials and 130 out on bail facing murder charges.
The MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador tells us that we have 20 years of work ahead of us, with the work load continuing to grow as the murder count grows. Then we can add in the 129 cases at the coroner’s court. Not to mention thousands of other minor cases.
To add insult to injury, the Junkanoo Minister wants to tell us that the criminal defence lawyers are to blame. What a sham! Clearly the Minister is in over his head, along with many of his Cabinet Colleagues. The criminal defence lawyers may manipulate the system, but then it is the Government’s responsibility to fix the system.
Neither of the Ministers above spoke to solving the problem or laying out a plan of action. As always, they seemed to try and cast blame elsewhere. It was only several months ago in the press that the Minister of National Security claimed that hangings would resume again. What another sham! As some would say “dey must think we fool.”
Since coming to office in 2007, the current Government has done next to nothing to tackle our broken justice system. We will hear the same old cry that Government cannot prevent crime. I couldn’t agree more, but Government can get the criminals off the streets and keep them off. They can ensure that the laws are enforced, so that people start respecting the laws.
To make matters worse, the PM feels that we only need 13 justices instead of 16. We need 16 justices just to handle the backlog of murder cases, putting aside all the other trials. We need no bail for those charged with murder and capital punishment to be carried out. This should have been the Government's priority two years ago, but better late than never.
At the very least, pitch a large tent on one of our vacant islands to house the 252 awaiting their murder trials. Feed sharks around the island to prevent any escapes, add a couple of patrol boats on top of this, and drop off a load of food and rations daily. One major problem solved with a limited budget.
Parliament could change the laws if they had the political will, but this administration appears to have lost the battle
