The attempted robbery at gunpoint at a supermarket in Tafaigata is a sign of things to come if steps to counter such crimes are not taken now.

It is not hard to imagine the trauma felt by the elderly man who had a gun pointed at him and then a knife placed on his throat. Fortunately, the masked assailant was scared off by the frantic shouts of the elderly man’s wife.

These incidents have far-reaching implications than just being a one-off incident. The man has set a precedent for others showing the criminally inclined that why not use guns to hold up stores. The nation has a gun problem. It is not hard to get a gun.

The police raids on drug peddlers have shown this. The fact that the type of firearms found in raids has not been surrendered in the gun amnesty also raises a concern. The ABC Pacific Wave carried a story of a man in Samoa unwilling to give up his gun.

This has sent a negative message to businesses and investors. This type of action says businesses are not safe, which dents investor confidence. Investors, both local and foreign, would think twice about investing. We do not need a situation like Papua New Guinea, where supermarket guards are armed.

It also drives fear within the community. This leads to property values falling and a lack of development in particular communities.

It would be jumping to conclusions to assume that such acts are fueled by drugs alone. We do have a drug situation where meth use is visibly increasing. The highly addictive nature of meth has resulted in similar crimes in other countries. Alcohol is a cause as well providing liquid courage.

Poverty is another factor that needs to be addressed. The government’s figures presented in a 2021 report stated that measures showed that 22 per cent of the population was living below the national basic poverty line, with six per cent living in extreme poverty. There are currently very limited social welfare benefits to help families living in poverty and dependency on imports is not helping this cause.

Gun laws need to be revisited. People should not be allowed to store guns at home. Police stations should be able to do that for them and only release them when needed. This reduces accessibility to guns.

The government needs to rethink its strategy starting with the police. The law enforcement agency is understaffed. This was brought out during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as 260 civilians were hired. The word is that some of the civilians who were on CHOGM duty have been called again to beef up numbers for the festive season operations.

The budgetary allocation for the police needs to be increased so that at least 500 more personnel can be brought on board. A stronger presence needs to be felt in communities and setting up police posts would be a good start. Police need to be resourced better so there can be more patrols.

The biggest tool to fight crime is awareness and for that cooperation between the media and the police is required. Currently, the police are not as open as the media would wish them to be. There has to be a public relations department that responds promptly to the media after running the responses by the top cop. The public relations department should not think that they compete with the local media.

More awareness leads to preparedness and preventative measures. Violent crimes do not only impact individuals. It has an effect on the community and the nation.