Looters During Demonstrations An Insult To Democracy
25 August 2016
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VAZET-COLUMN-ICONDR MASIMBA MAVAZAWhen a mob decides there is no law and all they have to do is take what they want, it’s up to the police to change their minds. Deliberate destruction of infrastructure, burning of cars and grabbing wares from shops and companies is not a democratic etiquette but a proper criminal activity. The events in Zimbabwe in the past weeks were deliberately provoking a harsh response from the police. Any polite restraint from the police would be called police brutality.
The looters hit the stores in towns loading up with goods and fridges this did have nothing to do with intended purpose of the demonstration. Then they descended upon other stores. Before long, they moved from the business districts to nearby residences. And what the liberation war hadn’t ravaged or left destroyed in 12 years they did in few hours.
Their actions are an insult to the freedom to demonstrate. Most Zimbabwean residents wondered why the Army did not show more initiative in stopping looters. Others put the blame on local law enforcement personnel. More enlightened souls recognized that many local officers and their families were among the victims. Police officers who remained on duty were assaulted stripped naked and some where killed. This hooliganism spirit has spread to soccer matches and road blocks.
The behaviour of the looters illustrate how helpless and even hopeless some law enforcement officers can feel when confronted with mass looting. When looting breaks out, it seems like nothing can be done to restore order. But that’s not necessarily true.
A quick police response is the most effective weapon against mass looting. Police must never underestimate the rioters. They must always approach them with the back up nearby.
“Looting is basically crime that breeds itself,” The first hours of an incident are critical. A timid or delayed response sends an implicit message: We are either unwilling or unable to stop the situation. A single window smash can be a precursor to hundreds. When people see somebody get away with a brazen crime, they conclude, ‘Well, if they can do it, so can I.’ And the cycle continues. One person insults an officer the other one slaps him the other one beats on the rest is a chain a causation.
Unfortunately, law enforcement faces a conundrum when it comes to the prospect of dealing with looters: If we use force and show an assertive law enforcement presence, will we later be accused of escalating the situation? If we don’t, will we be prepared to deal with accusations of ineptitude and cowardice by business owners and residents for not acting to save their property?
It’s pretty common for some officers to assume that an agency’s indecisiveness in the face of such diabolical choices is a result of administrative cowardice.
“First, you need to have a clear-cut mission,” everyone needs to know what they are trying to accomplish and how they are going to do it. “Next, you have to have sufficient training, personnel, and logistics to carry out that mission. Finally, you have to have administrators who will stand by the mission that they developed. From the very top on down, everyone has to be on the same page. If you don’t have that kind of commitment up and down the food chain, people will be hesitant to carry out their missions.”
The biggest factor in a police agency’s ability to prevent or quell looting is having a general knowledge of how people respond to disasters.
“The chief thing to remember is that the problem is almost never as extensive as it is reported.
“We now know that the reports of widespread teargassing and beating were gross exaggerations. The major issue of looting coverage is that it is often a better barometer of the intensity of media interest than it is of any actual instances of looting.”
Like most serious incidents, the best way to handle looting is with plans developed to combat it in advance of the incident that triggered it. Unfortunately, when all hell is breaking loose on the streets, plans change in a hurry.
“Having a plan is essential,But no single plan can cover all possible contingencies. A plan should be structured enough so as to make sure that everyone has a clear mission, but flexible enough to allow for situational variances.”
Also, like any battle, the decisive factor in a police agency’s attempt to quell looting is for the hearts and minds of the people. It’s a battle that’s won or lost long before looting breaks out.
Local law enforcement needs to be truly integrated into the community to enjoy a degree of reciprocal trust. In those areas where law enforcement is well regarded, law-abiding citizens are more likely to step up to the plate and help police officers in their hour of need.”
much of what happens during a riot is very similar to what is routinely handled by law enforcement personnel, just at a monolithic issues Agencies facing widespread looting have to be willing to swallow a little bit of their pride and ask for help.
Effective looting response can include the implementation of curfews, executing mass arrests or displacing subjects to other sectors, and making key targets much less attractive to looters.
“If a looting incident has occurred, then you need to isolate the problem,” There should be a two-pronged approach. You need to arrest major offenders and make sure that you have some measure of televised accountability. Because if the only images being absorbed by your public are of people carrying off television sets with impunity, you can rest assured that you will have more of the same.”
Your most powerful tool is the arrest,It has an immediate impact, as it communicates to the public that there are prices to be paid for the violation of society’s laws. It also shows the public that you are being proactive on their behalf.
Another way to help turn the tide against looters is to get the media on your side.
Even in the best of circumstances, law enforcement personnel may find themselves seriously outnumbered.
“In such circumstances, the focus should be on removing disruptive influences and establishing sector-by-sector control. If you simply do not have sufficient means to effect arrests, then at least consider video documentation of any looting.
Whether a looting incident has been prevented or quelled, policies and procedures have to be in place to allow for the safe re-entry of business owners and residents to the affected area. This may entail a lengthy process, particularly in those instances wherein displaced owners have traveled hundreds of miles away from their homes.
“You have to protect the area against the potential for crime,” Odenthal says. “You can’t just open the gates and let people in. Your plan has to allow for the reoccupation of the area in an orderly manner. This will almost always entail some degree of checkpoints and passes. This will help you ensure that you’re not letting criminals back in.”
Odenthal adds one important point. “You need to be able to ‘envision the end.’ You need to picture what the end result of all your planning and execution has gotten you, and how life will be thereafter. This will help you understand where you need to get to and what you need to get there. Finally, it will let you recognize when you have succeeded in getting there.”
This is an important consideration. “At one point during the East Los Angeles riots, we were on our 10th day standing on the streets,” Odenthal recalls. “There wasn’t even a curfew, but there was absolutely nobody out and about. Actual problems had long since dissipated, but we were still out there. It got to the point where we really felt like we were an occupying army. There was simply nothing for us to do.”
Since looting often strikes a population like some mass hysteria, it can be extremely taxing on an agency’s, or even on multiple agencies’, resources.
For example, in the aftermath of Katrina, the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Department had to use makeshift jails as holding centers for suspects charged with looting.
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12 Replies to “Looters During Demonstrations An Insult To Democracy”

  1. Our expectations are that these so called Drs. can see through the cracks and that they are competent to join a conversation and make sense. What I see though is that Zimbabwe is cursed in that we have guys getting PhDs without learning anything.

  2. Masimba mavaza it’s you who is an insult to zimbabwe infact you are a disgrace to the human race, a lot of things are happening iwewo wakati dzvondo mazisizo ako iwayo anenge nhundurwa dzarohwa nechando… The big chefs r looting and the country is suffering coz of these big chefs looting’s and you idiot are here talking nonsense.

  3. What a fucker of a useless Shona. Whats up with this Dr; Dr; Dr thing with these useless uneducated Shonas who cant even speak English. It could be PhDs in the Gukurahundi language; who knows!!

  4. Masimba Mavaza or whatever you call yourself, I know two wrongs do not make a good, BUT if looters during demonstrations is an insult to democracy, what would you say about a government that is killing its own people and is corrupt? Please let me know your doctoral view.

  5. The gratuitous violence by street protesters is worrying, we are creating a new generation of war veterans who will not accept that they are democratically accountable to anyone.

  6. Dr ava havasi kuziva zviri kuitika. Varegereriwo nekusaziva kwavo haisi mhosva .He must be properly schooled otherwise hudhokota hwake hauna chirevo mukurarama kwemunhu wanhasi.Chii chinenge chatanga kuitika nhai Dhokota?Asi muri dhokota anoona nezvekutaura zvisina msoro mumapepa? Sorry to u blaz.Unoshaya respect ukanyora zvausingazivi.

  7. Dr ava havasi kuziva zviri kuitika. Varegereriwo nekusaziva kwavo haisi mhosva .He must be properly schooled otherwise hudhokota hwake hauna chirevo mukurarama kwemunhu wanhasi.Chii chinenge chatanga kuitika nhai Dhokota?Asi muri dhokota anoona nezvekutaura zvisina msoro mumapepa? Sorry to u blaz.Unoshaya respect ukanyora zvausingazivi.

  8. Insult to democracy? What democracy. Mentioning the word itself in Zimbabwe is an insult you so called dr. I hope its dr wedzidzo and not like the other numerous drs springing up in this country.

  9. Masimba Mavaza usually the seaqence of these demostrations is peaceful demonstration – then comes police wanting to disburse the protestors by teargas etc – protestors resist – resulting in caos and hooligans, looters take advantage and join in. If only the police would monitor from a distance there will be no trouble at all. This has happened before and has worked perfectly well.
    DEMOCRACY – I hear you mention this word, does it at all exist in this country. What is democracy in Zim? It is non existant. Although I do condemn the act of looting and feel sorry for the innocent people who lost their goods and wares, I just want to mention the huge looting going on behind the scenes unabated which is 1000 times more than this daylight looting. It is really a pity.

  10. Masimba Mavaza usually the seaqence of these demostrations is peaceful demonstration – then comes police wanting to disburse the protestors by teargas etc – protestors resist – resulting in caos and hooligans, looters take advantage and join in. If only the police would monitor from a distance there will be no trouble at all. This has happened before and has worked perfectly well.
    DEMOCRACY – I hear you mention this word, does it at all exist in this country. What is democracy in Zim? It is non existant. Although I do condemn the act of looting and feel sorry for the innocent people who lost their goods and wares, I just want to mention the huge looting going on behind the scenes unabated which is 1000 times more than this daylight looting. It is really a pity.

  11. Peaceful or none peaceful demos people are being beaten by the police with the exception of Zanu Pf youths of course. I personally support the burning of police vehicles vafambe netsoka. To win this war we need to break their bridges as they’re trying to break ours. We have done demonstrated in peace all along and as usual but the next thing the police arrest, fire teargas, use water cannons, arrest people for speaking out their concerns.
    1) Stan Zvorwadza, arrested for asking Mboko get out that hotel
    2) Itai Dzamara disappearance with no trace ( takangonyarara)
    3)That Vic falls pastor
    4) Lady Linda who is currently locked up for nothing.
    5)Those officers beating villagers in front of their baby. The parents were crying so was the little baby.
    The list is endless, so I personally agree with povo. Hope next time tichatotaura kupisa mangonjo acho. Bloody idiots they are.

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