Latest murder victim of those who readily find refuge in Buxton - the village where criminals seem to be taunting the delivery capacity of the security forces - was the proprietor of the Esso gas station at Buxton, 35-year-old Bryan Hamilton.

The brutal slaying Friday of Hamilton in his office by armed criminals followed the foiled kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl student of the Strathspey Primary School, daughter of a businessman, earlier in the week.

It was largely the courage of the girl in fighting off and screaming that frustrated her armed abductors who quickly disappeared in the apparent criminal comfort zone in Buxton.

The ensuing protest demonstration that followed the foiled kidnapping of the student has highlighted both the sense of frustration and fear among school children and parents, villagers there and elsewhere, over the failure of the security forces, army and police, to be effective in affording protection against the brazen, armed criminal network.

Too often, it seems, the police or army personnel arrive too late at the scenes of criminal offences. The villagers of Strathspey have become so frustrated that they were openly shouting for the removal of such `patrols’ since they continue to suffer from criminal attacks.

While we look forward to some positive results from the investigations into the foiled kidnapping of the Strathspey Primary School student and the murder of businessman Hamilton, it is relevant to emphasise that there are too many examples of failure to apprehend those who kill, rob and terrorise.

How is it that security patrols, at times not far away from scenes of crime, some fatal, as in the case of Hamilton for instance, are unable to successfully pursue the criminals?

High Time
Too many have been killed, wounded, kidnapped or robbed, or suffered in various ways at the hands of the criminals in their more than year-long rampage. It is more than high time for the police and army to demonstrate their capacity to push the criminals on the defensive and show more results in bringing them to justice.

We are aware of those among us who have an obsession in targetting the security forces, and the anti-crime patrols in particular, for attacks, making them out as "executioners" rather than "protectors".

Excesses by the police or army in the performance of their duties must not be condoned. Nor should unjustified and poisonous attacks on the integrity of our soldiers and police be used as excuses for failure by them to be on the offensive against the criminals and their network.

It is also known that there are some groups and individuals that are quite selective in their militancy against killings associated with police anti-crime patrols. It is simply indecent and dangerous to be selective in choosing victims of murder or of robberies, kidnappings and other criminal acts. Such hypocritical posturings can be exploited, indeed have been exploited, by the criminal network.