Getting Rid of Criminal Armed Gangs in our communities

By: Edmond R. Gray

Armed Robbery consists of the conceptual divide between property crime and violent crime. Of late this issue has become a nightmare in our inner communities. For most part, Liberians have concluded that in order to be successful, the Liberian National Police (LNP) Commissioner must make armed robbery a key priority. Regardless the size of this problem, and in the absence of a coordinated security agenda, it is important to firstly assess the situation in order to tactically address it.

As a professional I have come to the conclusion through the SARA approach (Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment) that the cause(s) responsible for the increase in armed robberies, theft, burglary, and others is not as coordinated as one may imagine. Through my interaction with local patrol officers, business owners, victims of armed robbery, prior suspects arrested for a variety of offenses, I realized that most of these crimes were committed with some relative easiness. There is absolutely no reinforced police presence or coordinated tactics in place to address crimes.  What that means is that among others, morale in the LNP is low, and effective deployment of the almost four thousand police troop is also a problem. Our police are not engaged at all. There is an aura of boredom in the LNP. Most of the business owners I spoke with say “they prefer to close their doors early to escape the increasing dangers that darkness would bring”.

My analysis also reveals the presence of an unusually high rate of sex for cash activities. At such, the sex for cash enterprise does not seem to form a part of our law enforcement workload. Despite that, this can be a useful tool in effecting police operations. Another interesting phenomenon is the early release of suspects due to crowded jails. Also residents who have been affected by armed robbery say despite the prevalence of robbery, they have never seen nor heard of any police sweeps or crackdowns.

For over 40 years sting operations have been part of the modern police response to crime, though artful deceptions and undercover operations have been part of police techniques for as long as policing has existed. The exploits of Jonathan Wild—who fenced stolen goods but also worked closely with London police as an informer in the early 18th century—are remarkable examples in addressing crimes. Modern sting or police operations have been justified as an effective, less coercive way not only to catch criminals, but also to collect the necessary arrest and conviction evidence, thus avoiding the difficulties or even the necessity of obtaining an offender’s confession.

Many stings or police tactical operations, though not all, end up with a crackdown, that is, a sudden and dramatic increase in police officer presence to make the mass arrests that complex sting operations often require.  For tactical reasons I will cite specific examples. To say the least, not all crackdowns are linked to stings, such as the sudden and visible police patrol in a known vice area, which may be routinely repeated.  A wide variety of police operations have come to be called “sting” operations in common police practice. For example, operations that target political or judicial corruption, armed robbery, drug dealing, etc are commonly referred to as sting operations.  Most of the offenses that claim police attention in advanced countries are not prioritized in Liberia and that even makes police work much more easier in Liberia.   

In the 1990s when grenade throwing and target assassinations were the order of the day, we were able to curb these unwholesome criminal acts with various sting tactics. Firstly, sting operations are largely tactical and using them may claim immediate public attention and sometimes outcries. However, if we must address the issue of armed robbery, civil societies and political leaders must shy away from dictating softer means of solving crimes. No amount of soft approach will reduce or eradicate armed robbery from our communities.

Because certain police operations cover a wide variety of crimes and use different techniques depending on the operation’s immediate or long-term purpose, it is difficult to precisely provide a one-size fits all approach to solving one particular crime.  However, with some exceptions, most if not all operations contain four basic elements which I am not prepare to discuss through this forum.  May be we need to know some benefits of crackdowns and sweep operations.  Stings facilitate investigation and increase arrests, they enhance public relations and police image, they enhance police presence, they improve collaboration between police and prosecutors, they provide an impressive conviction record, they may succeed without convictions or arrests, they often require partnering with community and business organizations, they improve community relations by recovering stolen property, etc.  What better way to curb this armed robbery situation other than sting?