Missing Evidence

Police and Crime. From time to time I get an email that stirs my curiosity. If it is about the police, my ears prick up. Our police force in Anguilla is relatively clean. For it to remain so, will require continuous vigilance by all concerned. That means you and me. We have to keep our eyes and ears open. When we learn anything suspicious, we have to open our mouths. No keeping quiet and not getting involved. Not if you want to remain safe. The integrity of the police forces of many of our neighbours, by comparison, has long ago been compromised.

There is nothing more frightening than a corrupt police force. It has been aptly described as an armed gang, backed by the full force of the State. Corrupt elements of the police force of Antigua control all drugs importation and distribution in that country. They own and run the whorehouses of St John’s. They control “security” at the casinos, and run all the illegal ones. They collect “protection money” from every little business on the sidewalk. In Grenada, St Vincent, St Kitts and St Lucia, corrupt police officers control prostitution, gambling and drugs trafficking. Police and Immigration officers openly usher Dominicanan prostitutes through the airports when they arrive. The main use of police cars in those countries is to distribute drugs to the approved outlets. In those islands, the only persons ever accused and charged in court are from the unauthorised competition. The Grenada Coast Guard distinguished itself after Hurricane Ivan by mounting a series of piracy attacks on boats bringing hurricane relief to the island. Typically, these police forces protect themselves by collecting evidence of corruption by politicians and businessmen. There is nothing such police like more than a prosecutor or an attorney general with a penchant for little girls, or better still little boys. They collect the evidence and then use it as blackmail to keep them quiet. The business communities and the professions in those islands know all about this state of affairs. They discuss it in hushed tones among themselves. They put up with this outrageous situation for one of two reasons. A few refuse to believe it is happening all around them. More often, they are too terrified to do more than give you a knowing wink and a nod when the subject of police corruption comes up.

So, it was with some unease that I read an email received recently from a correspondent. It raised fears. It read:

Check the Kristy Richardson thread on anguillatalk. Go to the second page of comments - there's not much of interest on the first page, a lot of whining by Yanchie and others about how young mothers should be exempt from criminal laws, including smuggling large amounts of illegal drugs.

The first entry on page two from Rudeboy alleges that the substantial amount of drugs she was convicted for is missing!

Now drive around in back of the police station and look at how many of them drive cars that are more expensive than the average.

You may ask, why did I not take my concerns to the Commissioner of Police? What in the world would I do such an idiotic thing for? The Commissioner’s job is to defend the members of the force from unwarranted attack. Notice that the correspondent did not offer a single name of an officer who might have stolen the drugs. Nor did the poster on anguillanews.com provide any details that can be checked by an outsider. Only the police know what is missing from the Evidence Room. Any Commissioner would strenuously deny to someone like me that even one ounce of the stuff was missing. There is no regulatory body of any kind that we can take any concern to. Besides, the Commissioner read the post on anguillanews.com just as my correspondent did. I did not hear any loud protest emanating from police headquarters.

The question is this: did the drugs disappear?