Dear Editor,
As crime and criminality threaten the very basic fabric of survival of Jamaica, I think the powers that be are fighting the wrong battle in their quest to curb both.
Crime is a social, political, and mental health problem and must be treated that way in order to fix it. I am appalled and disturbed to hear the attorney general and legislator Marlene Malahoo Forte threatening to abridge and infringe on the constitutional rights of ordinary citizens as a crime prevention strategy. This strategy is symptomatic of a Government that is careless, loose and idle as it embarks on a ‘Band-Aid’ approach to crime prevention and eradication. In treating cancer; to get to the root cause we have to get to the cancerous cells, so it is with crime. Governments over the years have failed to effect a strategy which gets to the core.
Research on criminality reveals that individuals from broken homes and those in pathetic social conditions are are 10 times more likely to commit a crime than those living in a stable homes and affluent social conditions. Domestic violence, according to one statistic, accounts for 25 per cent of all murders last year. Social workers and institutions that interact with communities have the statistics to prove that social inertia breeds criminality. What is even more frightening is that politicians are perceived to stand to benefit from the “geopolitics” of criminality.
If we want to be honest with ourselves, the majority of crime is committed in areas that vote consistently for one party without getting their social living conditions improved. The people are perceived to be pawns, because if they keep the people dependent and hungry they can be led with a banana string.
There are 12 very strong political garrisons and a further 15 constituencies with pockets of very strong garrison-like characteristics. These are areas which if resources are pumped into can contribute significantly to the GDP of our country.
Governments have failed to address mental health issues affecting our communities, especially in those garrison and garrison-like areas. What is the ratio of mental health nurses to the population, or to the population of the garrisons and garrison-like areas? Mental health interventions can go a far way in arresting some of the crime being committed, especially those of a domestic nature.
Before they abridge and infringe on people’s rights, let us abridge and infringe on the ills in our society that breed crime. Let us treat with the causative agents of crime rather that treat the symptoms of it.
Fernandez Smith
fgeesmith@yahoo.com
As crime and criminality threaten the very basic fabric of survival of Jamaica, I think the powers that be are fighting the wrong battle in their quest to curb both.
Crime is a social, political, and mental health problem and must be treated that way in order to fix it. I am appalled and disturbed to hear the attorney general and legislator Marlene Malahoo Forte threatening to abridge and infringe on the constitutional rights of ordinary citizens as a crime prevention strategy. This strategy is symptomatic of a Government that is careless, loose and idle as it embarks on a ‘Band-Aid’ approach to crime prevention and eradication. In treating cancer; to get to the root cause we have to get to the cancerous cells, so it is with crime. Governments over the years have failed to effect a strategy which gets to the core.
Research on criminality reveals that individuals from broken homes and those in pathetic social conditions are are 10 times more likely to commit a crime than those living in a stable homes and affluent social conditions. Domestic violence, according to one statistic, accounts for 25 per cent of all murders last year. Social workers and institutions that interact with communities have the statistics to prove that social inertia breeds criminality. What is even more frightening is that politicians are perceived to stand to benefit from the “geopolitics” of criminality.
If we want to be honest with ourselves, the majority of crime is committed in areas that vote consistently for one party without getting their social living conditions improved. The people are perceived to be pawns, because if they keep the people dependent and hungry they can be led with a banana string.
There are 12 very strong political garrisons and a further 15 constituencies with pockets of very strong garrison-like characteristics. These are areas which if resources are pumped into can contribute significantly to the GDP of our country.
Governments have failed to address mental health issues affecting our communities, especially in those garrison and garrison-like areas. What is the ratio of mental health nurses to the population, or to the population of the garrisons and garrison-like areas? Mental health interventions can go a far way in arresting some of the crime being committed, especially those of a domestic nature.
Before they abridge and infringe on people’s rights, let us abridge and infringe on the ills in our society that breed crime. Let us treat with the causative agents of crime rather that treat the symptoms of it.
Fernandez Smith
fgeesmith@yahoo.com