By Dale Andrews Once upon a time in Guyana the television newscasts began with the depressing sounds of John King’s “How many more?” and Capleton’s “Jah Jah City”. The front pages of the newspapers were covered with big bold headlines of a country under siege. On any given day one could rest assured that news will be about another person being gunned down, executed or kidnapped.No one denied that Guyana had become a nation in fear, with even the persons responsible for our safety cowering, leading to a semi-state of emergency, with the deployment of the Guyana Defence Force, not forgetting some other extra-judicial methods. That was the 2002-2008 period.Crime Chief,Fc Barcelona Tienda Espa?a,Wendell BlanhumCommissioner of Police,Wholesale China Jerseys, Seelall PersaudFast forward to 2015 and many are beginning to think back to those. Today the newspapers and newscasts are beginning to resemble those of the mid 2000 crime wave, with the brutality of current criminal activities.But this time around the persons responsible for their safety are not really afraid, they are just doing nothing about the situation, or so it seems.There is no doubt that within recent times,Wholesale Jerseys China, the sensational crimes that have occurred have cast a shadow of fear in several sections of the society-from the Corentyne to the Northwest District to the Rupununi.Within the past two months, we have heard of the brutal murder of businessman Ganesh Ramlall; the attack on a Land Court Judge and her husband; wanton shootings in the city; the brutal murder of an elderly woman which was captured on surveillance cameras; the slaughter of a Chinsese restaurant owner and more recently, the slaying of a Corentyne cash crop farmer.When bandits can take time to cut a hole in the wall of your house to come in to attack and the police cannot reach their in time, something is definitely wrong, and no wonder citizens are feeling helpless and hopeless.“Nobody is safe anymore because it seem that the police are in league with the bandits” said one resident of the East Bank of Demerara.And who could blame him for thinking that way when for this year alone, a few policemen have been convicted for armed robbery, while the Force only recently broke up a gang that was equipped with police uniforms and carrying out illegal roadblocks to rob unsuspecting persons.And while the government through its Minister of Public Security has outlined a strategic plan to address the problem, the police themselves seem to be clueless as to what to tell the populace.This has led to protests with the affected communities calling for some form of positive response from the law enforcement agencies.I don’t for once believe that politicians should be the ones to go to front to appease the people, afterall, we keep hearing about more resources being given to the Guyana Police Force.The Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud has been silent in the main within recent times.Just under two months ago he had boldly announced that despite the numbers, the crime situation in Guyana within recent times was never out of control.“The perception is that since the last elections (May 11th), crime has spiraled out of control…but the statistics is showing that last year we had a fifteen percent reduction and that this year we are measuring those reported crimes against the reported crime last year, of that 15 percent reduction,” the Commissioner had explained in early July.According to the Commissioner, this perception might have been because of more violence attached to some of the reported criminal activities.“The situation was never out of control and so it’s easy for some of our critics to sensationalise…maybe it works towards the end that they want to achieve,” Persaud stated.He said that what the critics do not recognize is that within recent times the high profile crimes are being matched by high profile arrests and prosecutions.“So how is it out of control?” he asked.But his explanation is still not being bought by members of the public, especially since he has remained silent in the wake of the most recent surge in crime.The Commissioner has been holding on to the Force’s initiative of building relationships with communities that are usually linked to criminal activities as one of the success stories of crime prevention.Not everyone shares his belief that this is bearing fruit—at least not presently.A former top official of the criminal investigations department believes that the problem rests with the Police Divisional Commanders.He said that the Commanders have deviated from the core responsibilities of the police,Jerseys NFL China, which is to prevent and detect crime.“Within the past two years, we have seen efforts being channeled into social work, you