EDITORIAL

Recent attacks on the homes of two members of the diplomatic community have once again sent home the message of the vulnerability of our people to criminal elements in the society. It should be noted that these attacks took place as the island is preparing fully to host its share of matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

GRENADA TODAY has advocated in the past the need for the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) to closely and carefully monitor certain known criminal elements in the society who use special events and occasions to conduct their illegal business. It is our firm belief that the police should use any leeway given in the law book to control these criminals.

Under the 1979-83 People¹s Revolutionary Government (PRG), there was mass detention of criminal elements especially during the cruise ship days. The revolutionary government had suspended the constitution and no one could have gone to our law courts to challenge his/her detention by the State.

It is vastly different today given the multitude of lawyers in our midst and anxiously looking for work. The law provides for crime suspects to be detained for periods of up to 48 hours for questioning by the police.

It might become necessary for the police to utilise this provision in the law to keep constant checks on known criminal elements in the society. As a country, we need to do everything possible to ensure that all visitors to our shores, as well as Grenadians at home are fully protected in the coming weeks and months from those who look forward to certain events to engage in robbery, stealing and related illegal activities.

Sometimes the end justifies the means when a country has to implement certain measures to protect its image. The recent incident at a hotel in Trinidad and Tobago where some of the cricketers for the ICC World Cup tournament are staying provided nothing but bad and ugly international publicity for the twin-island republic.

In Grenada, we can ill afford for anything of the kind to happen. One bad incident could result in the island losing all the monies invested in hosting its portion of matches in the World Cup. The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) need to increase and intensify its patrol system especially in those areas of the country that are known to be vulnerable to the criminal elements.

There should be no excuse that the financial resources cannot be found to cover the increase cost of this exercise especially as it relates to fuel costs and shortages of vehicles. It might become necessary for the authorities to give serious consideration as a short-term measure to allow the police to use some of the government vehicles that are assigned to the various ministries and departments.

As a matter of fact, what we need at this point in time is a number of unmarked police vehicles that are not known to the criminal elements to help out with patrols. In a very small society like ours, the criminal elements make it their duty to get to know most police officers and their vehicles in order to stay one step ahead of our law enforcement officials.

We need to always devise means and methods to keep up with the criminals and to beat them at their own game. The police force also need to take an internal look at some of its own men and women to determine their fitness level to help in the fight against all criminal elements.

On the surface, it appears that some of the officers are top-heavy in weight and forget about the training received on entering the police force. Police Commissioner Winston James and the other members of the High Command should ensure that all police officers go through a rigorous fitness programme as part of the job description.

Those officers who fail in the area of fitness should be given a particular period to shape up or take the ship out of the force. The only excuse to be accepted should be medically related. All members of the force need to be physically fit in order to maintain their place in RGPF.

The taxpayers must not be used to keep on the payroll any member of the force who is not worthy of his/her place within the unit.