How My Crime Was Investigated.
Have you been a recent victim of a serious crime? If so, were you satisfied with the way the authorities handled it? If you were not, would you be willing to share your interpretation of your interaction with out law enforcement officers with us?
I have been reading and hearing of some really serious assaults that have taken place in Anguilla over the first three months of this year. I have heard of the almost hopelessly ineffective police investigations that have ensued. I have heard of offenders suspected of multiple assaults on women in their beds at night being released on bail to continue their predatory behaviour. I have wondered that no one has been speaking out.
The readers of this Blog are not particularly interested in interfering in any on-going police investigation. We are concerned about a different issue. What is the state of readiness of our law officers to protect us from the rising wave of crime that we face here in Anguilla? How they reacted to your incident will be revealing to us. Your experience may prepare us for what might befall us next. Sharing your experience, especially if it was not an entirely satisfactory one, with the public might even have the salutary effect of making those in authority who should be aware of what is going on stand up and pay attention. This last is probably a forlorn hope, I know, but we can try.
I am going to start off by posting a couple of my true stories over the next few days. I hope to post some of yours subsequently.
Send me an email, or telephone me at my listed number, and I will consider your story for a post, with such names and details as you decide.
Have you been a recent victim of a serious crime? If so, were you satisfied with the way the authorities handled it? If you were not, would you be willing to share your interpretation of your interaction with out law enforcement officers with us? 
Although there are certainly technical deficiencies in the techniques of our police, the problem starts at the top and flows down hill. A similar problem on another planet is explained in a letter in today's issue of the St. Helena Independent:
ReplyDeleteDear Independent,
In his letter of resignation, ex-Ascension
Councillor Geoff Jones stated that “continual
pressure has been put on Councillors
not to communicate directly with
members of the Electorate prior to the
formation and release of agreed policies
or draft ordinances.” London Reader
commends him for revealing this.
In his inauguration speech in 2004, Governor
Clancy told the people of St.
Helena, including its Dependencies:
“The first “O” of “Pobol” is for openness.
I want this to be one of the watchwords
of my appointment. Some discussions
within Government and within Executive
Council are inevitably Confidential. But
what I would wish to see is more and
earlier consultation, more explanation of
decisions and an even stronger consultation
of Government to serve the consumers
of public vices [sic]. I also want,
as part of good governance, to look at
proving access by the public to relevant
documents.”
London Reader said this last year about
your failed Governor. It bears repeating:
What is needed in St. Helena today is
wisdom, the wisdom of a Mandela. Wisdom
is the application of reason to ethics
and experience. It arises from an understanding
of human frailty, from an acceptance
that there are no perfect solutions,
from a willingness to compromise,
from the sublimation of the ego, from
respecting those one claims to serve,
from forgiveness and compassion. St.
Helena has been going through difficult
economic times since the departure of
the garrison following the death of Napoleon.
During this time, people lost
hope and fled in large numbers. Many
of the survivors are ambivalent about
their future. What is needed now are
character and vision, to help us understand
what has happened and to chart
a way forward.
In other lands, this is called “leadership.”
London Reader
I have received what I consider to be very reliable reports that Ms. Mimi Gratton of Cul de Sac, and formerly of the AHTA, was attacked, gagged, bound, and beaten this past weekend by an intruder armed with a gun. He demanded and received her ATM card and password. I think this attack and the increasingly serious series of break-ins would be a perfect subject for your blog. I also believe that public discussion of the seriousness of the recent crimes and their impact on the tourism industry together with the lack of meaningful government or police response would be extraordinarily important and helpful in forcing a resolution.
ReplyDelete