The main opposition UPP today called for the resignation of Public Safety Minister Stedroy “Cutie” Benjamin and Commissioner of Police Wendell Robinson.
In a release, the UPP expressed “deep concern” over what it called the escalation of crime in general, the “alarming and escalating murder rate” here.
The party said the resignation of the two is “as a commonsense first step in reversing this spiraling problem.”
The UPP wants Prime Minister Gaston Browne to remove Benjamin if he refuses to resign and has asked the Police Service Commission to investigate the conduct of the police force under Wendell Robinson “and to take appropriate actions to advance the security of our state.”
“It is apparent to the party that the government has shown that it is totally incapable of creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment for the citizens, residents and visitors in our country,” the party statement added.
According to Senator Harold Lovell Political Leader of the UPP, “There has never been a period in our history where crime has been this bad and the police response has been so ineffective. Under former UPP Administrations the Police response to crime was far more effective. The joint roving patrols throughout the night by the military and police contributed significantly to crime reduction. The UPP is firmly of the view that 19 murders in a small society like ours evidences a breakdown in law and order due to the ineptness of the Attorney General and the incompetence of the Commissioner of Police.”
Senator Lovell further comments “We have an Attorney General who publicly stated more than two years ago that there are criminal elements in the police force, but has none absolutely nothing about it. We have a Commissioner of Police who has ignored confessions of crimes committed by government officials and complaints of physical abuse, made by women, including acts of violence by men in high places.”
