Guyana has the largest per-capita crime situation in the Caribbean; maybe in the world. And with all the talk from the successive governments, there seems to be little movement in the right direction. The United Republican Party (URP) has long been speaking to this matter. We have personally and publically told the leaders of our nation that until they get a handle on the crime situation in Guyana, our development will be stymied. The recent attempted bank robbery and the subsequent shootings and death, are no surprised. And we in the URP think that it will get worse. We are also very concerned that in an oil economy, robberies, adoptions, kidnappings and murders will be the order of the day. Guyana has just about two years to turn this huge ship of crime around. The task is almost impossible. We say that because the leaders of this country are not really setting the example to which they want to hold the country’s youth accountable. With all the crime committed and billions of dollars stolen (as proven by the many audit reports), there is yet to be one politician or major political party member jailed for stealing the taxpayers money. Instead all we hear is that investigations are ongoing. Or that witnesses cannot be found. So now the current administration has drifted into the same arena they once accused the PPP of. They too are being accused of skullduggery and shady behaviors. All the while, the youths are looking on. It is like an advertisement: if all of the politicians and their close allies are doing those criminal acts and getting away with them, why not let us? Let’s try-a-thing? And it seems to be working. Yes, the Republic Bank’s robbery attempt failed and with tragic consequences but what about the many others that are daily and nightly succeeding? A few nights before that bank robbery attempt, a security guard in Sophia was shot and killed and his revolver taken. Maybe it was that very gun that those bandits had in the failed bank robbery. Editor, the URP firmly believes that what we are seeing in Guyana, beyond the fact that our nation is impoverished, is a copy-cat situation. They young people are determining that if the politicians can increase their salaries, live in inflated rental homes, benefit from addition perks valued at millions of dollars and get away with crookedness, then they too will seek to get rich, or die trying. Until there is transparent, ethical, commonsensical, honest leadership from the top, Guyana’s youth, especially those who have less to lose, will have no incentive to move away for their constant attempts at gansterism. And come 2020 and beyond when the oil money begins to flow to just a select few, the situation will become worse.