THE INITIAL successes reported by the Police Commissioner on the new anti-crime campaign must be welcomed. But we would hope that the initial gains are put in proper perspective.
The weapons that have been seized and the detainees taken into custody have been caught in a security sweep specially boosted for the exercise. The gangs which are said to be targeted would have taken their own precautions to avoid capture. Indeed the chances are that those with access to resources outside of the enclaves which came under curfew may now be lying low and in effect playing possum while the heat is on.
Thus we expect that the commanders of this security aspect of the campaign would keep in mind the Prime Minister's declaration that the exercise would last "as long as it takes."
That kind of timetable has built-in flexibility. We assume that the security forces may have some estimate of the numbers of illegal firearms still at large in order to determine how much more they have to do in this regard to add to the 26 seized in the past two weeks. In addition, apart from finding the hidden guns, ways to halt the inflow of more weapons will have to be established.
Taking all this into account it will be difficult to root out all the guns that the Prime Minister anticipates; hence the flexibility of an elusive deadline.
A more readily observable success may be discerned in reports from the inner cities of an easing of tensions. This derives from the marked change in approach of both policemen and soldiers interacting with the people as exemplars of community policing. The Commissioner's captivating face-off with a young toddler in Tavares Gardens graced the front pages yesterday.
Some initial signs of the social outreach that is part of the campaign were seen in the police bulldozing of derelict structures in some areas. While these may have had criminal usage the spaces may now invite much needed housing.
We would hope that this latter aspect of social uplift will not have to wait for as long as it takes.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
