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19th
August 2010
The
Rape (?)
Here
in St. Lucia, there is almost every day
some new occurrence (more often than not,
some negative one) that fuels the gossip
mills and makes the rounds, arousing the
public’s interest and eliciting
opinions from all and sundry.
Today, we are looking at the allegation
that a young woman who was taken into
custody by four male policemen was raped
by them, with the complicity of a female
police officer.
To listen to the many calls being made
to the various talk shows, the country
is outraged by this incident and shares
the sentiment that, were the claims made
by the young woman turn out to be truthful,
there should be no restraint shown in
dealing with the offenders and meting
out punishment to the fullest extent that
the law allows.
The abhorrent incident places a black
mark over the image of the Police Force,
at a time when it can least afford it:
mere months after the control of the organization
was taken away, against his will, from
ex-Commissioner Ausbert Regis and turned
over to presently Acting Commissioner
Vernon Francois.
The change was made amid promises that
the number one priority of the new man
at the helm, in order to have a substantial
impact against the criminal element in
the country and take charge in the ongoing
“War on Crime”, was the examination
of the calibre of officers under him and
the subsequent weeding out of the “bad
and crooked” element that, it was
common knowledge, existed among the ranks.
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How much of a
priority the above turned out to be, once
the man was installed, is obviously an appropriate
question in the light of what has now allegedly
taken place for, inasmuch as the identities
of some of the “rotten apples”
were known, the country has not yet learnt
of one dismissal, one transfer, one action
that has been taken to show that a cleansing
process was being undertaken.
On the surface (and at this stage, in order
to reassure the populace that the steps that
were taken would result in a sense of increased
confidence in the ability of the police force
to keep us all safe and secure, actions should
not be hidden behind closed doors or under
blankets, but rather be open, out on the surface
…), nothing seems to have been done,
and after all the brouhaha of the dismissals
and appointments, it all seems to continue
to be business as usual.
As a matter of fact, should the woman’s
allegations turn out to have a foundation
of truth, things may be getting worse, not
better, under the new management.
Mr. Francois, this is your true baptism of
fire, your moment of truth. Take whatever
steps you have to, in order to get to the
bottom of this, then follow with the correspondingly
necessary action the situation will call for.
Bear in mind that, if as in the past (before
your tenure) this is shoved under the carpet,
then sir, … so might you be, as a result.
Discuss
Story
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