THE EDITOR: Having regard to the escalation of vehicle-aided shooting deaths, with fast cars the prime facilitator, the glove compartment of such vehicles can be duly relabelled the gun compartment.
The "command centre" and various bits of technology deployed by the National Security Ministry appear inadequate and fruitless, giving rise to the need for a practicable and functional solution to this horrific killing spree that has been long plaguing the nation.
The era of the sawed-off shotgun has passed and underworld forces are now in possession of automatic and semi-automatic weapons which are equivalent in sophistication and comparable in power to those of the military. In these circumstances our laws governing firearm possession need to be re-evaluated and fortified.
The frequency of vehicle-aided shooting deaths mandates that the State enacts legislation for the revoking of a person’s driver's licence should he be found in possession of an illegal firearm in his vehicle, his home or on his person.
If the promulgation of such laws and police roadblocks and stop-and-search exercises accelerated to the magnitude where it becomes perilous and risky for gun-toting drivers, it would result in a notable decline in offences of this nature.
Currently no one, inclusive of innocent toddlers, are absolved from the wrath of barbaric gunmen, most of whom are authentic owners of vehicles.
Reports of untrustworthiness at our seaports and airports have placed fresh burdens on the shoulders of the police as this betrayal of trust has intensified the necessity for more detailed and frequent searches to be conducted on vehicles and pedestrians for various offensive weapons.
The Commissioner of Police and Minister of National Security must indeed work passionately to eliminate illegal firearm possession and death by the gun. It is beneficial and worthwhile patterning countries governed by stronger and tougher illegal gun-possession laws.
Motorists with a criminogenic inclination have increased and expanded their range of targets and this phenomenon demands a counter response by the police. One such response lies in sourcing vehicles from other ministries to boost searches, roadblocks and pedestrian scanning. Searching has been rated by recognised criminologists as “distinctly a basic factor in crime suppression and prevention.”
Murder, which has been defined as the premeditated and intentional killing of another human being, has been downgraded to a bailable offence and in the process the fear and dread for the “murder rap” has been diminished. In such circumstances there should be no break in vehicle searching and pedestrian scanning as there is no other channel the police could pursue to avert a 605-year-end murder count.
The proposed security measure may incur some degree of inconvenience to law-abiding citizens, but the ultimate goal is to eliminate the menace of vehicle-aided shooting deaths, the leading cause of fatalities in our country.
DAVID O’NEAL
via e-mail