Zero Tolerance for Crime says PM

Dear Editor,

When the Spencer government was in power, the ABLP used to give it to them mercilessly when it came to crime and violence in this country. And they were damn right. Baldwin and his ministers were the government of the day. It was their job to ensure the police were top notch at crime fighting, that we had cutting edge technology in the mix, that the prison and correctional system were effective, that the process of investigation prosecution and court administration of justice were effective. That’s what a government is supposed to do.

Now all of sudden, you can’t criticise the Labour Party now that they’re in power. Nothing is their fault.

They’ve had the same man in charge of national security and justice since 2014, as he alone is entitled to the job. Yet if you ask, where is he? What are his plans? The Labourites get into a fit. It’s always, “it’s not the Ministers fault. Blame the criminals” . If they see a headline that says “Has the government lost control of the crime situation?” they say, “why are focused on the government? The government doesn’t make crime”.

The Prime Minister might as well be the Acting Minister of Public Safety. And he too is doing a poor job of it. All bluster. Every week, someone else to blame. He blames ONDCP, Judiciary, Lawyers, Prison Superintendent, everyone but his government and their policies for 12 years. Do we have a new prison yet? Do we have an offender rehabilitation programme? Do we have a forensic lab? Do we have adequate digital surveillance?

And their followers line up like lambs. Sad. I don’t know what it is about being in that party that you just lose all sense of reality and common sense and your appetite for bullshit just increases. Any attempt to hold policymakers accountable for failed policies, the Labour Party rejects it. Their supporters jump up to defend them.

Bet your last dollar if the UPP were in power, and this kinda violence was unfolding in Antigua, where donyou think the Labour Party would be? Them mans would be outside Baldwin House with placards and photos of the victims demanding his resignation. With this government? Gaston won’t even try a change of Minister. Same old song and dance. “It’s not our fault.” Then he goes home to his concrete walls, top tier security system, and armed defence force guard to sleep comfortably in his bed while the rest of us pray to God.

I’m so sick of this government and the people who keep them in power.

Sincerely

Sheryl G Cochrane-George

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: LETTER: The ABLP Takes Responsibility for NOTHING, including crime.