Here's the email I mentioned earlier that looks at what the sudden political escalation in anti-crime measures might mean on a macro level.
I'm going to follow up with some thoughts of my own, as sometimes running this blog I get caught in the day to day movements rather than stepping back and pondering the bigger picture.
Look at the language in the Premier's speech on crime the other day."Last night I convened a special session of the Cabinet and there was only one-item on the agenda – ending the anti-social behavior among young people that is threatening our country’s very way of life."
Yes, violent crime has increased, and yes, it's a problem that needs to be addressed, but I wouldn't say that it's something that is "threatening our country's very way of life" (and I say that as someone in the law-enforcement field, who has first-hand experience with these issues). For me, this kind of hyperbole is uncomfortably reminiscent of how George Bush talks about the "War on Terror" - hyping-up a legitimate but compartmentalized problem into an all-encompassing existential threat, all so the government can have an excuse to become more draconian and centralized.
That's why, although I unreservedly support the Premier's suggestions regarding improving our social programmes, I feel wary of the Premier's comments about the Police. We've known for ages that this government is looking for a way to take over all Bermuda's armed forces, namely the Regiment and the Police. Of course, this wouldn't be problematic in the case of a government with a track record of respecting the rule-of-law, but it is problematic when the government has shown itself willing to pressure the (supposedly independent) Police Service into protecting the government's political interests, as it did when the Auditor General was arrested.
My concern here is that this government - which has shown itself enamoured of Republican-style tactics both during and after the most recent election - will continue to follow the Republican playbook to its logical conclusion, and will use a threat against the community as an excuse to get tough not just on criminal threats but also on political threats. I wouldn't be surprised if, over the next while, we see the Police force get better armed, then, after some terrible shootout or some failure to reduce violent crime, we hear the government passionately insist that these problems are all the result of the Police not falling under the government's direct control. Then we'll be told that only our own government is capable of keeping us safe, and the independence talk will kick in under the guise of domestic security concerns. And then, with independence, we'll not only have a government that thinks only in terms of politics and not in terms of governance, but one that now has an entire Police Service and Regiment at its beck and call. And then it'll be more than Larry Dennis who'll have to watch their back if they dare to expose things that the government wants to hide.
Maybe it sounds paranoid, but that scenario is certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Anyway, a citizenry paranoid about its ruling class is a healthy citizenry - the foundations of western democracy dictate that its the people that keep the government in check, and not the other way around. Look what happened in the US - because of the "War on Terror", the American citizenry forgot to fear its government's intentions, and now corruption has become institutionalized. That's a big worry, considering how much our Premier loves copying the tactics of American Republicans like George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove.
