There has been a muted response by Commissioner Griffith to the incident in which 3 men were killed in a shoot out in Morvant.  Contrast this with his response to the shooting of 2 year old Aniah and her father.  The CoP mocked and jeered would be protestors about their absence of outrage.  Well Mr. CoP, we have no outrage because our spirits are dampened and we are suffocating beneath the weight of the death of children and young men. 

Once again, my stomach boiled although I know neither the pain of losing a child nor the pain of losing a child as a result of gun violence!  Annually 500 women feel this gut wrenching pain of losing their child and we simply tick it off as someone known to the police or involved with guns, drugs and gangs.  The anecdotal evidence is that for each murder, at least 5 persons are affected.  Annually 2,500 persons suffer trauma from gun violence.  Over the past 5 years it means that at least 12,500 persons have suffered mostly in silence.

Maybe, there has been no outrage because we have lost hope that the COP or the Leadership of the country are committed to taking any meaningful action against the scourge of crime.  We remember the name calling, sarcasm and arrogance and juxtapose those remarks against the increasing crime statistics and retreat to our cubby holes to pray that home invasions do not continue an upward trend.

Subject matter experts on Crime remind us that the only approach to reducing crime is a strategic, long term, multi-sector approach. It is not simply about police, vehicles, guns, armoury and police stations.  A clear vision is needed, followed by short, medium and long term goals and objectives.  This is all management 101 but there is tremendous inertia and a view that we can talk our way into solving crime.

Gun violence in this country is out of control and there are a couple associated ironies.  We do not manufacture guns in this country, so each gun comes in across our borders either formally or informally. How is it that despite having the electronic scanners in place, we seldom ever hear of a shipment of guns being intercepted.  Is it that those electronic scanners do not work?  How is it that often, when we hear of the seizure of a high powered gun, it was found in some field or barrel or some obscure place and not associated a specific person or importer?

Mr. CoP, citizens have no outrage because we fear for our own lives.  We want to help but we are looking for a plan and a strategy aimed at changing the way we do things.