Letter to the Editor :: The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer

The Honorable Mark Brantley made a brilliant presentation in the House of Assembly for 2010. His passionate emphasis on the vicious criminal activities in our nation is a reminder that government of the day has neglected their obligation to finish the business of crime solving. There needs to be constant pressure placed on our nation and our individual citizens to help eradicate the incessant, belligerent behavior occurring within the ranks of immature young people of St. Kitts.
My interpretation of "unfinished business" as it relates the government is their inability to appropriately complete their responsibility which we the people have given to them to eradicate this destructive criminal element from our nation.

A Practical Strategy
We must focus attention what is causing such crime. Teenagers are drawn into gangs because of their desire to have social acceptance, recognition, and power over others. They are made to believe that these organizations provide the security of brotherhood, belonging, and a camaraderie that they do not receive at home or in their own communities. Another cause of their criminal activity may be that these mischievous young people are bored, and do not have wholesome, character-building activities which teach personal integrity, responsibility. That need must be considered and addressed if crime prevention is to succeed. Young people need guidance and discipline, and we adults must provide it, along with the help of law enforcement.

It important for the government and its social agencies to foster a program to assist young teenage boys and girls who find themselves in the unfortunate situation of becoming parents at such young age. Often times, these young and impressionable individuals are perplexed by the complex situation that has befallen them. In many instances, they have neither clue nor the basic instinct of how to adequately address their circumstance.

Why do I say this? In many cases, the individuals that commit these senseless acts within our society are descendants of parents who also did not receive a high standard of education or understand how to master the basic philosophy of society. Their children may have been denied in-depth and substantial instructions and directives that a child of a more fortunate and stable background would have received.

This social program has to be vigorous and well structured. It must incorporate a variety of programs: sporting activities, parenting workshops, motivational speeches on building self-esteem and self-worth. We can use the mediums of the schools, factories, family planning and the mass media in our society to disseminate information geared towards confronting these issues.

We citizens ourselves must make ourselves available to chaperone every social event held for young people, and form Neighborhood Watch Groups to constantly watch for crime in every street, block, neighborhood. A policeman trained in Crime Prevention meets with and instructs interested citizens who organize their immediate neighborhoods in local crime prevention. He or she teaches them to be alert to, and to immediately report, any unusual or suspected criminal activity in their immediate vicinity. Young people who know they are being watched and "caught in the act" are more likely to be deterred from crime. Neighbors watch out for neighbors. Neighborhood Watch Groups who have had such training from police then post stickers on their doors showing that they belong to a Neighborhood Watch Group. Signs are installed on a block or area in which every citizen in it has received training in such crime prevention. Crime has been greatly deterred in neighborhoods in the U.S. where such Watch Groups have been formed.

Examples
As a child, I often heard the older people expressing this thought: "Example shown, example followed." Such language was not technical or so highfalutin that one could not understand its meaning. It is appalling that our leaders today have failed to follow such simple words spoken by those of wisdom. The constant use of inflammatory and obscene language towards others in the political arena helps exacerbate crime in our nation. This form of communication continues to send the wrong signal to those already motivated by violent behavior to commit more vicious crimes against their fellowmen.

What about self-respect? Have we forgotten how to conduct ourselves in a dignified manner that would reflect moral character and integrity? Have we become so self-absorbed that we no longer care about the future of our nation? How can we stand by and behave so recklessly when we know that we are affecting so many innocent lives? I ask that you to remember that "Example shown is example followed." Positive enforcement leads to positive results; negative examples lead to desolation and destruction of our people.

If our leaders would attend the funeral services held for any young countryman who has fallen by the gun, they would more likely understand the enormity of the pain and suffering that a parent endures by such a tragic loss. Their presence and comforting words would be a step in the right direction toward taking steps toward reducing crime and eliminating these wasteful losses. It is time to become empathic towards our fellow men and stop treating crime with such indifference. Remember, the lives of these young men matter.

Conclusion
I will continue to pray for those parents who live in agony and deep sorrow for the rest of their lives after losing a child. One can only imagine the pain that you are suffering, perhaps, after burying a child. They were not casualties of war. Their death did not happen as they were defending their nation from an invasion. Instead, they were brutally murdered by some heartless, misguided young man like themselves who thought that his strength lay in the brutalizing one of his fellowmen. He chose to kill rather than protect. Let us hope the day has arrived when this senseless behavior no longer terrorizes our nation. We the people must see the urgent need to eliminate such a destructive path.

Paul D. Woods