The question of violent crime is on everybody’s mind. People are frightened, wondering if their turn will be next; for from the way things are going these days, one does not have to do anything to be hurt by some stupid young violent criminal.
The way the guns are all over the place, some idiot might have a gun and, wanting to see if it works, pulls the trigger and lodges a fatal bullet into the head or heart of some innocent passer-by.
The way things are going these days some jackass with a gun might enter a shop, supermarket or gas station anytime in the day or night and without taking into account that he/she can’t get away with it, might leave a few people behind dead, while he/she absconds with or without the loot.
Things have been going this way for a long time now. Gas stations have been held up, shops have been held up, banks have been held up. It is years now since these things are going on. People have been shot, some have died, some lay crippled. The only thing they did wrong was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time; the place where the criminal was; the time when the criminal was armed and in a vicious mood.
Whenever such a catastrophe strikes, we who survive hold our bellies and bawl. We shed bitter tears of sorrow; we express our utter hopelessness. In our deep bewilderment, we even indulge in the foolish practice of trading political blame for this bewildering social malady.
The government panics, they bring out the military who drive up and down the place. They stop people’s cars and search them for guns. They impose a curfew and when the shock wears off they wait helplessly for the next shocker. Hysteria smothers the population.
“BRING BACK HANGING; A LIFE FOR A LIFE;. THIS WILL STOP THE KILLING!”
I don’t agree. Now, if John kills and we execute John, the execution would certainly stop him. For he’s dead; he can’t kill again. But what is the point? Just keeping him in jail for life or for whatever length of time will stop him from killing again.
What about Jane? Would hanging John stop Jane from killing? I don’t think so, Jane, like John, will kill from the wickedness in her heart. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the execution of John.
Over the past 25 years, St. Kitts has had two executions. During Kennedy Simmonds’ administration, he was persuaded to execute Ible, the half-crazy ex-soldier who killed a pregnant woman.
Then there was that one under the Douglas regime when Shit, that victim of childhood neglect and abuse, was left to take the rap for the death of a night watchman.
How many murders took place after Ible and Shit went to the gallows? A lot. Neither of these executions had the power to deter other murders from taking place.
The point is that murder and all other crimes cannot be prevented after they have taken place. They have to be pre-empted to be prevented.
Pre-empting crime is like putting a watchman to guard a house with things in it. The idea is not to catch someone stealing the things but to deter anyone who has the idea.
As long as the watchman guards the house well, the items will be secure and some potential criminal will escape temptation.
That’s how it is with crime on a nationwide scale.
The nation is a large scale house. It has things in it at risk of being stolen and it has people in it in danger of being hurt or killed.
The nation must be secured from the risk of its things being stolen and its people being hurt and killed. We call that national security. This security of our nation is a very important aspect of our governance and when our citizens are mowed down like dogs in our streets and butchered like hogs in their homes, it reflects upon the efficiency of our national security.
The groanings of frustration and the messages of condolences cannot enshroud the fact that there is something which we as a community are not doing right why these unnecessary tragedies occur and recur with ever increasing frequency.
It is clear that there is more that we need to do. Like rounding up all the idle youth between 16 and 25. Those who lime in Irish Town, New Town and St. Johnson Village, Sandy Point and St. Paul’s, Saddlers and Cayon and wherever else they idle. Idleness breeds crime.
In one decisive swoop they should be summoned to National Service and they should serve nationally for at least two years. During this time they would catch up on all the values which they missed out on while they were growing between 16 and 25.
All those values, the lack of which threatens to turn them into social nuisances. Values such as respect for themselves and for others, respect for people’s property, a sense of patriotism and national pride, reverence to God.
And they will learn to develop the virtues of pioneers, such as hard work, punctuality, thrift, reliability. And they will be ready at the end of their two years to take part in the exciting task of nation-building which still lies ahead.
Not every youth 16 and 25 will be drafted into this institution. Some of them, a few, have already caught the spirit. They have voluntarily enrolled in some kind of training at which they spend their days. They are not idle. They go to church, they deport themselves with dignity, they have learnt to respect themselves and their elders.
Our community can safely leave these youth to develop themselves while we concentrate on uplifting those whose crude and callous behaviour threaten the security of our nation.
Pre-emption is better than prevention
