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  • 6 hours ago
As debate intensifies over government's intention to extend the State of Emergency questions are again being raised over its effectiveness, public perception and the wider strategy needed to confront violent crime.

TV6's Nicole Romany has the details.
Transcript
00:00Criminologist Dr. Randy Sipersad says, while the state of emergency may assist in disrupting certain criminal activity like gang violence,
00:09a significant percentage of violent crimes fall outside the scope of what emergency measures alone can prevent.
00:17There are other types of offending that an SOE simply cannot touch.
00:21And I'll give you a very obvious example.
00:23Let's say domestic violence incidents which result in murders.
00:27That is something that an SOE isn't designed at all to touch.
00:31However, Dr. Sipersad cautions against viewing the SOE as government's sole crime-fighting mechanism,
00:39stressing that it forms only one component of a broader national security response.
00:45The criminologist also weighs in on the Joshua Samru and Kia Sili matter,
00:51following widespread public reaction to the manslaughter charges against Sili.
00:56There must have been something that happened that was a reason why these persons were fleeing the police, etc.
01:04So this is part of the evidence that we don't know.
01:06We don't have it on video, but presumably something in that evidence that the DPP has access to
01:13has led the office to the conclusion that a manslaughter charge could be laid.
01:19He tells the morning edition that contrary to public perception,
01:23decisions made by the office of the DPP are not political.
01:27I will even go further in this particular matter and say that the non-disclosure of the information
01:33by the DPP isn't necessarily a bad thing.
01:37In fact, the DPP might even be protecting the interests of the defendant,
01:43Kia Sili, in this particular case.
01:45Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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