Dottin: Politics stands in the way of a joint fight against crime

There is a need for unity in the country to tackle crime, says Seventh-day Adventist pastor Clive Dottin, who fears the upcoming general election will further divide the country and undermine the fight against crime.

He raised those concerns while speaking to athletes at the Citizen’s Summit on Crime and Violence at the TML Hall in St Joseph yesterday.

“I am concerned that next year’s elections will divide us more than unite us, when we need to unite,” he said.

“Politics has a way of paralyzing any attempt to unite the country. We have to put the country first and that has hurt us over the years. We have to tell ourselves that this is the last chance. We have to do it differently.”

Dottin said that once the country decides to seriously tackle white-collar and blue-collar crime, crime will decrease.

“A divided, corrupt, undisciplined country cannot fight crime,” he said, adding that there is a need for “courageous, sacrificial action.”

According to Dottin, it appears that Caricom is unable to tackle the regional criminal network.

“We have a network of narco alliances in the Caribbean and Caricom has been overshadowed, overshadowed and rendered almost powerless when it comes to dealing with crime in our society,” he said, adding that it is time for religious organizations, businesses, government agencies and non-governmental organizations to come together to tackle crime.

Dottin said he was not satisfied with the state’s response to crime. Although much is being done, there is a “bankruptcy of courage” that is hampering the necessary response.

The radical change Dottin envisions includes campaign finance legislation.

He explained: “I think the godfathers who are buying up political parties and political groups all over the world and we are a small island nation, and I think sometimes we feel like we are not able to really solve this problem and paralyze the top of the mafia pyramid.”

He added: “I think, frankly, we’ve lost the battle over the years, and we’re continuing to lose the battle. In my view, we’re in a real crisis. Yesterday we had three murders in one hour, not one day but one hour, and as a nation, not just as a church, we can never be satisfied with our efforts. We need to look at what more we can do to save the nation.”

In January, opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar called for a state of emergency to tackle crime. Some opposition figures reiterated the call earlier this month, saying crime was out of control.

Dottin said that while he believes the state of emergency is necessary, it is not enough.

“We need to fix the legal and judicial system. While we call on the police to do more, we need to root out the bad guys in the police service,” he said.

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