P.U.P. Still Wants Bipartisan Crime Commission; Chester Comes Back
John Briceño
While Social Security dominated this afternoon’s press conference, the first issue raised by P.U.P. Leader John Briceño was crime, which has dominated this week’s news as it has many weeks. And the solution could be on his way back very soon. Former Southside Commander Chester Williams, according to Briceño, is slated for a return. But he warned that the problem is far deeper than that and called once again for a bipartisan review as he did earlier this year in the House, when it was addressed to the Prime Minister.
John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader
“This Government has absolutely no answer to the crime wave that is going through this country and we have always said that a Government must lead but they are not leading. Earlier this year, I brought up the issue of crime in the House and I told the Prime Minister that this is not a political issue, and that we in the P.U.P. are as concerned as they are, and we want to work with them – we want to offer our ideas in trying to find or start to address or come with a solution to the crime situation. And the Prime Minister, in one of his more lucid moments, agreed to my offer and said he would get back in touch with me to discuss how we can put a committee to start to address this issue, bipartisan; unfortunately I haven’t gotten any call. I am told that they are sending back Chester Williams into the Southside. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; he seems to have had things under control. But sending Chester Williams, in itself, may be a band-aid solution, a temporary solution, but it is not going to address the real issues affecting our people – the issue of poverty, the issue of housing, the issue of lack of education, especially in the Southside.”
This evening the Police Department announced a press conference for Friday at the Raccoon Street Police Station, where Minister of State Elodio Aragon and Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie are slated to address the current crime situation. It is believed that the announcement of Williams’ return will be made formal then.
