Over a quiet dinner at a local sushi restaurant the other night my wife and I got into the hot topic these days. Crime.
It started with the usual question; "did you see there was another murder?"
And then the refrain of late for conversations like this; "What is this town coming to?"
Then the conversation hit high gear and we had a mini rant about the purpose of government.
In the end we agreed the real purpose of government is to protect the country's citizens/residents from harm. i.e. Police, Courts and Defence.
Outside of those infrastructure might be a function but is not the purpose of government.
When the bill arrived we were left to ponder why there is not more focus on these issues.
There seems to be money for almost any project or trip abroad that one can conjure up, but the Police, and Courts seem to be the beggars at the banquet.
On the ride home we agreed that if we ran the government we would cancel all trips abroad so Cabinet Ministers can focus on this issue once and for all.
Maybe this would be a good time to analyse the departments and Ministries that serve little purpose any longer and let them handle the administrative paper work (under the guidance of a couple senior officers of course), so police can be police.
The other thing we thought we would do is bring in a couple hundred foreign Police to get things under control, weed out corrupt officers and then leave over a period of months.
Without some drastic measures – shock therapy – it seems the decent citizens of the country are bound to lose out more and more as time goes on.
It's tragic really.
But there is hope.
Former President of El Salvador, Francisco Flores provided some food for thought when he spoke at a Nassau Institute / Atlas Network event back in 2006.
Here's an excerpt:
"The third step is a new political ethic. To me the two most important dimensions of this are the purpose of governing and the purpose of political parties.
"In 2001 we were faced with an astonishing rise in crime. As all of you know there are a thousand ways to justify this: from the violence inherited by a 13 year war to the gangs organized in Los Angeles. But all of you leaders that have had this experience know that in all probability an unexplained rise in crime are the result of growing corruption within the police force.
"The solution is a tough one. Admit it publicly, pursue the policemen involved, and create an effective system to inspect their behavior.
"In our case we fired one fifth of the police force. Did we create a crisis? You bet. But a few months later crime was at an all time low and we survived the political storm.
"Governing is not an applause contest. It has ethical imperatives that demand honesty when facing problems. This is the first dimension of a new political ethic.
Surely we can overcome?
In the final, government does have a purpose, but its a lot different than what we have had in the past couple decades.
