A Change in the Force

When Jedi Master Yoda sensed a shift in the force, he attributed it to the snuffing out of millions of lives in that instant. When Mr. Shan Ali  (father of murder victim Neeshad Ali) declared "I am convinced there is a change in the force right now. Even the CID were very anxious to have some closure in the matter, but I only hope that they follow through, and quick justice is served," his own sense of anguish and devastation would have been somewhat diminished for him to find comfort in the professional and efficient approach of the TTPS. Impressive is the only way that I could find to describe the actions of the TTPS in this case. Although Neeshad is forever lost to his loved ones the expectation that justice is not far around the corner can only help mitigate the grieving process.

Whilst there is still a lot rotten in the state of Denmark the signs are encouraging that indeed (slowly though) we are coming to a point that reclamation of our Republic is a real possibility.

The real positive here is the gathering of and exigent action on reliable intelligence. Beside rogue elements, delinquent officers, and a generally ill-equipped force the real issue affecting law enforcement in our Republic is intelligence. Not intelligence of the intellectual ilk (although this too is untenable) but intelligence the law enforcement term that seems so lacking. Evidence of this is reflected in the poor detection and by extension conviction rate.

In any sensible approach to crime detection a vigorous campaign of CI (confidential informant) recruitment at a community level is essential. Registration of and remuneration of CIs for useful intelligence will see a quick turn around of the detection rates. From what I know of the TTPS the Special Branch is similarly mandated. They are to infiltrate and assimilate themselves into communities thereby sourcing first hand intelligence on the criminal elements.

Clearly this system has either failed or the assimilation has been transformed into defection to the dark side as it were. Undercover agents usually, after long periods struggle to remain morally and even legally grounded.

Collectively though, we all have the tools to eliminate the societal anarchy that plagues us. Those of us who have intelligence on criminal activity and do nothing about it are themselves criminal and obstruct the pursuit and fulfillment of justice. The pains being taken to advocate anonymous criminal reporting and rewarding is not effective and a review of its methodology is needed. 

If we all can be as convinced as Mr. Shan Ali that “there is a change in the force” then we must all use this opportunity to partner with the TTPS and participate in the solution to the crime problem. Without our input all the fancy cars, foreign CoPs, GPS, on board databases will all be a waste of time. The state can only provide a mechanism, the intelligence must come from us, we are the cameras on every street corner, we are the witnesses, we have the power to take the criminals off the streets and we are a force more than one million strong. You want to know how to reduce crime? Put the criminals behind bars.