Family and community must deal with crime

THE EDITOR: Please permit me space in your newspaper to address the issue of crime in our beloved country: Mr Prime Minister, I see that you are trying very hard, but you have run out of ideas. However, the administration of law is not only the business of the government. Firstly, it is the responsibility of the family, then the community. Charity begins at home, and so does crime. Crime has to be firstly arrested within the family. If there is no satisfactory resolution within the family, it must then be taken to the next level, which is the community. These two family-oriented institutions are the most effective weapons that can be employed against institutionalised crime.

Today, we see the government removing many of the traditional responsibilities which were so efficiently and effectively borne by the family and the community in the past. No wonder why your government has failed miserably in its efforts to reduce crime! Every family and every community should shoulder this responsibility for itself. Mr Manning, another special unit will not solve crime. This will be another waste of the State’s resources and money. It’s time to return to the wisdom of the Most High God. The model of administration given to Moses by Almighty God made no provisions for jails and crime-fighting units. A disobedient, rebellious son was firstly chastised within the family. If his behaviour persisted, he would then be forcibly taken to the community elders. The parents would lodge their case against him and in light of these two potent witnesses, all the men of the community would stone him to death. Of course it would have been a painful experience that none would savour and none would ever forget. The stoning was then published throughout the land so that all would hear and fear. From my recollection, the men of the community soon had to find some other avenue of occupation, for such occurrences would have been few and far between! The strong insinuation here was that if one’s behaviour cannot be controlled within the institution of the family, then one was not fit to live within the community.

Mr Manning, you cannot control crime from Port-of-Spain! We don’t need a police state. The family and the community are in the best position to regulate themselves. The answer, Mr Prime Minister, is not central government but self government. This is where empowerment is needed. Let each community be responsible for keeping its environment crime-free. The community knows who are the criminals. These criminal have homes, families, friends and neighbours. They should be made accountable to their communities. Legislation should not just involve stiffer penalties for criminals, but also the issue of restitution to victims of crime, and the empowerment of the family and the community. Communities should be specifically identified and proper management structures put in place to manage the shift from central to self government. This will then inform the roles of the law enforcement institutions and the judiciary. The likeliest outcome is that there may be no need for some of them. Let’s for example look at the drug problem in our island:

The community knows who are the drug lords. An empowered community will be able to bring swift closure to their businesses. The drug lord and his family should, after a fair community trial, be treated as murderers and executed if found guilty of importing drugs into the community. All properties can be seized and used for the benefit of the community. The drug pushers who are guilty of such activities within the community should be driven from the area along with their families. Their homes can be confiscated and sold and the proceeds thereof used to treat the victims of their trade. The drug addicts and their families should be sent for rehabilitation for at least six months. Yes! It is a family matter. When these measures are in place we will vividly see how effective the family will become as an agent of self government. Crime will be nipped in the bud. The bud is the family.

JULIEN CYRUS
Chase Village