Dear Editor,

I refer to the editorial titled ‘Vigilantism’ (SN, August 26). It is both timely and telling, and a reflection of a society on edge.

Citizens are frustrated into a state of broad impotence by the pace and sweep of crime, especially violent crime; this is where they have been for a long time, and where they are today. Citizens, on occasion, are compelled to take matters into their own hands ‒ vigilantism is their answer, with all of its harrowing consequences, when citizens are reduced to levels of fear in full expression. Nobody wins when the bloodlust is over. This is what occurs when a government abandons its people, and leaves them to fend for themselves, to defend themselves.

In the same vein, citizens are still working to develop confidence in the sweep and efficacy of the Guyana Police Force; there is a lot of ground for the force to cover. Citizens, until recently, lacked belief in the GPF, due to the visible and outright lawlessness that flourished under the prior regime, and seemed to grow exponentially. Murder for hire, out-of-court settlements, and parallel justice arrangements (system, really) prevailed. During this era, murders and an infinite variety of felons could pay the equivalent of US$1,000 (sometimes less), and walk. It is why there are still so many cold cases. Under this system, there was the usual drivel about “investigations continuing.” This was accurate to a point, as they continued into the oblivion of nowhere. Soon it was time to just hand over the dough; no checks, please.

I read somewhere a while back that until Robert Peel came along in the United Kingdom, there was only deep distrust over any agency remotely resembling a state-operated police force. The fear was that malefactors and political masters are served at the expense of the public’s safety. This is what happened here, isn’t it? Thus, the chaos that arises from time to time.

The litany of felonious conduct is seemingly endless: drug related violence, piracy on the seas, phantom squads (remember that development), and trafficking in persons. Why, there was even a charge of treason levelled. There are more, but these are sufficient for illustrative purposes.

Editor, when citizens feel vulnerable and exposed and enfeebled, then they themselves will extend injustice through the practice of vigilantism. This is most unfortunate, and places little to no reliance on the law. When left unchecked, vigilantism in time can lead to anarchism. The guns are there to make such possible.

Yours faithfully,

GHK Lall