Investigation into The Root Causes of Crime in The Bahamas is Urgently Needed

The Bahamas Government Can Best Prevent and Address Crime by First Setting Good Examples

Pursuing Sustainable Solutions to Combat Crime and Hostility in The Bahamas with a Collective Approach

By Dr Kevin Alcena

Nassau, The Bahamas

The Bahamas is grappling with significant challenges related to crime and violence, impacting communities and hindering progress within society. While legislation plays a crucial role, addressing these complex issues demands a comprehensive strategy that includes various sectors of society.

This article explores the key aspects of a collective strategy to curb crime and violence in the Bahamas, emphasizing the empowerment of communities, the establishment of a compulsory national service, the enhancement of education, the application of scientific approaches, and economic reforms.

Community Empowerment

Central to the reduction of crime and hostility in The Bahamas are initiatives that focus on the community, offering education, vocational training, and social support to at-risk youth. Such programs can divert these individuals from criminal activities by providing opportunities for positive involvement.

Furthermore, cultivating a relationship of trust and cooperation between law enforcement officials and community members via community policing can significantly decrease crime. This method promotes dialogue and partnership within communities.

National Service

Implementing a compulsory national service program stands as a crucial element in reducing violence and criminal actions. Involving youth in structured tasks such as environmental conservation or improving public amenities can foster a sense of responsibility, self-control, and collaboration. These activities not only equip them with skills valuable for employment but also open up educational opportunities, presenting a constructive alternative to criminal behaviors.

Education and Literacy

Ensuring access to quality education and literacy is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty and curtailing involvement in criminal activities. By launching literacy campaigns across the nation, The Bahamas can enable its citizens to pursue better employment opportunities, make informed decisions, and contribute to societal development. An increase in literacy rates can elevate economic conditions, reducing the desperation that can lead individuals to engage in crimes.

Scientific Initiatives

Investing in scientific research focused on crime prevention and social improvement can reveal important insights and innovative strategies. Utilizing evidence-based approaches is key in identifying the fundamental causes of crime and violence, leading to the development of effective deterrents and interventions. Collaboration among government agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations is necessary for creating tailored solutions that cater to the specific needs of Bahamian communities.

Economic Reform

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of both formal and informal economic sectors is essential for effective governance and crime reduction in The Bahamas. Meticulously recording economic activities, including those in the informal sector, enables authorities to monitor business practices and directly address illegal operations. Integrating informal sectors into the formal economy provides them with access to resources, legal protection, and growth opportunities, thereby reducing the allure of criminal endeavors.

In efforts to decrease crime and violence, The Bahamas must adopt a strategy that addresses social, economic, and administrative challenges. Strengthening communities, engaging citizens in national service, enhancing education and literacy, allocating resources to scientific research, and pursuing economic reforms can create an environment conducive to security, prosperity, and the well-being of all citizens.

The dedication of government officials, social organizations, and the business community is imperative for the successful deployment and lasting effectiveness of these measures. Through persistent efforts and a commitment to change, The Bahamas can establish a foundation for a future free from the scourge of crime and violence.

The Infestation of Crime in The Bahamas

Crime emerges from our lifestyles and the deliberate or inadvertent efforts by family members, friends, and acquaintances to hide criminal activities. Crime is a manifestation bred inadvertently by society’s actions.

According to the French nobleman Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), “Crime embodies lust. What would pleasure be without the thrill of crime? It’s not the debauchery itself that excites us, but the notion of committing evil.”

Former US FBI Director John Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) emphasized that within the upbringing and education of family members, it is crucial to “impart truthfulness to the children.”

CRIME: A SOCIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON

The term “CRIME” originates from the Latin word “CRIMEN” and is defined in BLACKSTONE'S CRIMINAL LAW BOOK as “the act of committing an illegal activity.”

The first recorded crime, a homicide or murder, was committed by Cain against his brother, Abel. Historically, crimes were considered sins. Hence, crime has existed since the sin of Adam and Eve and will persist till the end of days.

“Sociological” is derived from the French word “Societe” and the Latin “Socius,” meaning “Society.” The term “Phenomenon” comes from the Latin “PHENOMENON,” referring to “any observable fact that can be scientifically described” by humans.

Thus, when it is said that “crime is a sociological phenomenon,” it means that crimes are acts committed by individuals based on environmental or societal influences through the senses. Crimes are perpetrated through the senses of touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. By touching and feeling, one can commit the crime of homicide, through sight and hearing, the crime of pornography, and through taste and smell, the crime against consuming drugs in all their varieties.

A super predator, essentially a psychopath, can commit heinous acts like murder and rape without remorse, believed to be due to the absence of a functioning conscience.

Most crimes, such as murders, rapes, robberies, and other violent offenses, are committed through the senses of touch and feeling. Crimes are classified as blue-collar, committed mostly by the impoverished, and white-collar, committed by those more affluent.

The notion that charity begins at home extends to evil as well.

It follows that parents, with rare exceptions, are not to blame for their offspring's crimes, just as political parties, politicians, or police are NOT responsible for citizens’ crimes. Nevertheless, the governing party, whether PLP or FNM, alongside the Police Commissioner, has a sworn duty to prevent, reduce, and solve crimes. The Attorney-General commits to prosecute all crimes committed by anyone, “without fear or favour.”

The ruling government can best prevent and address crime by setting a good example, establishing proper infrastructure like more entertainment and sports facilities, and promoting friendly relations between the police and the populace.

Additionally, everyday citizens have a responsibility to look after one another and follow the golden rule.

The perspective above is merely a starting point. Further investigation into the root causes of crime is urgently needed.

Not every perpetrator is apprehended. Many cleanly-dressed criminals, in suits or uniforms with polished shoes, walk among us in The Bahamas. The French Philosopher Voltaire noted, "If every man had to display his crimes on his forehead, he would wear his hat over his eyes."

Focus must be on: (A) The Resolution of Crime, and(B) The Rehabilitation of The Offender.

A systematic cultural shift in addressing crime, including the restructuring of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and establishing a commission to tackle corruption levels, is necessary for the Bahamian people.

This would inevitably foster a culture of respect within society. The government maintains zero tolerance towards corruption.

The Resolution of Crime

Two methods for resolving crime include: The Preventive Approach, and The Practical Common Sense Approach.

The Preventive Approach

The Book of Proverbs in The Holy Bible advises parents to guide their children in righteous ways, promising they will adhere to these teachings lifelong. In essence, instructing children to follow Biblical teachings, such as the ten commandments, love for God and neighbor, the golden rule, and manners.

Source

The very same Perry Christie who failed to fulfill his first duty as Prime Minister in 2002 ...can't condemn violence by his supporters ...or even get out his party's election platform in 2012," says Hubert Ingraham

'Late-Again Plp Criticised For Lacking A Manifesto

By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

#DESPITE continuing to talk and make promises, opposition leader Perry Christie has still not released his five-year platform, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham pointed out.

DESPITE continuing to talk and make promises, opposition leader Perry Christie has still not released his five-year platform, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham pointed out.

The FNM, by contrast, has already produced a hefty 2012-2017 manifesto, and the DNA has issued a 20-page preview version of its plan.

Speaking at an FNM rally in North Eleuthera Wednesday night, Mr Ingraham said: "The whole election campaign is only four weeks. With a quarter of the campaign behind us, the late-again PLP leader has yet to inform the Bahamian electorate on the details of his election platform.

"His campaign speeches and those of his candidates up to now have been filled with just one thing: Ingraham, Ingraham, Ingraham," the Prime Minister said.

The rally came one day after photographs surfaced of PLP supporters driving over an effigy of an FNM supporter, and Mr Ingraham asked why no one in the PLP has come forward to condemn the act.

He said: "They keep talking about their new plan to address crime. Have you heard anyone in the PLP condemn the symbolic killing of an FNM supporter yesterday?

"They plastered the effigy of an FNM supporter being rolled over by PLP adorned-vehicles in Golden Gates. Now that is an invitation to violence; not a call for peace and respect of the law."

Mr Ingraham said the lack of condemnation by Mr Christie proves nothing has changed in the PLP and that the opposition would only bring "disorganisation and dysfunction" if elected as the government.

"The very same man who failed to fulfill his first duty as Prime Minister in 2002 can't condemn violence by his supporters, or even get out his party's election platform in 2012," said Mr Ingraham.

"Doesn't that sound like nothing has changed?"

April 20, 2012

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

We remember when Mr. Dennis Dames first started writing letters for publication in The Tribune... and so we guess that he is too young to remember the elections of the sixties and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) "goon squads" where election violence all started

Protect our Constitutional rights

tribune242 editorial




OUR CONSTITUTION guarantees every resident of this country the right of free speech, conscience and assembly. No one - election or no election - has the right to interfere with these basic freedoms. Those who do should be severely punished.

Freedom of conscience assures each and everyone of us the right to our beliefs, regardless of how others might disagree. Freedom of expression gives us the right to express those beliefs as we see fit, as long as we respect the rights of others to do the same. In other words we all agree to disagree, but in a friendly manner, one respecting the right of the other to have his turn on the floor. We also have the right to free association with persons of like mind, including political parties. Under our Constitution, no one has the right to interfere.

These inalienable rights should be ingrained in each of us from childhood. To be devoid of them on reaching adulthood means that such persons have been lost on the fringes of civilisation. They live in a democracy, but they neither belong nor appreciate that democracy. The only time that there is a squeak out of them is if someone retaliates by stepping on their toes -- it is only then that they become aware and quickly demand their constitutional protection.

In a letter to The Tribune today, Dennis Dames commends Killarney MP Dr Hubert Minnis (FNM) for calling for "calm heads to prevail" during this election season.

"We must remember," said Dr Minnis, "that we are all Bahamians and when the election is over, we must all still live together in this Bahamaland. It is not unusual for one home to have individuals who support different political parties but what is unusual for us, is for family members not to support each other, instead allowing political persuasions to affect our family bond.

"We must continue to respect an individual's right to speak, support and vote for the party of their choice, as this is the fundamentals of the democratic process at its best. We must bring out the best in each other; we should practice patience, hospitality and love. We should abstain from mud-slinging and personal attacks on each other because at the end of the day, we all want one thing, a better Bahamas. No one wants to live in a violent, unfriendly environment."

Dr Minnis called for peace and respect one for the other on learning that the daughter of one of Grand Bahamas' FNM candidates, and three other supporters were sprayed in their faces with a fire extinguisher by a PLP supporter.

Why would anyone carry a fire extinguisher to a political rally? This case should be thoroughly investigated and, if found to be true, the culprit or culprits should be severely punished.
In commenting on Dr Minnis' call for calm, Mr Dames wrote that he had "never experienced such touchiness, itchiness, and angriness among Bahamians of different political perspectives in the Bahamas until now".

He said that if things continue on this course, "we could be in for something violently new in our electoral process and it will be a direct reflection of our 21st century political leadership in the Bahamas".

We remember when Mr Dames first started writing letters for publication in The Tribune, and so we guess that he is too young to remember the elections of the sixties and the PLP "goon squads" where election violence all started.

Today we are only reaping the seeds that were sown then -- violence, disrespect for law and order, disrespect for our elders and ourselves, satanic worship at the altar of materialism - on and on into today's pit of degradation. Today in almost every aspect of our decadent social behaviour we are reaping the evil seeds that were sown then.

In those days, the PLP's goon squads, with their loud clackers, were so violent that public rallies could not be held. We recall one night covering a political meeting in Fox Hill's school house when the building was stoned. The foreign journalist with us, sent to cover the election, was so frightened that he crawled under one of the classroom benches for protection. People were injured, people were sent to hospital. Their pictures made the front page of The Tribune.

Bahamians were frightened to write letters to The Tribune, and those who did never attached their names. One night a woman's home was stoned because it was believed that she had written a letter critical of the PLP to The Tribune. Properties were burned, a policeman was sent to The Tribune to try to force us to reveal the identity of a Freeport letter writer. The police officer disliked his assignment as much as we did, and so we had a friendly chat, wished him well and sent a stinging message back to the PLP Cabinet minister who had sent him. By the seventies, we were into the drug years --fast boats, retaliatory killings, and a general breakdown of all the rules that had held a Christian society together. Fast money was a badge of success.

And so do not "send to know for whom the bell tolls," it tolls for each and every one of us. Now is the time for zero tolerance -- either that or surrender our society to the refuse born and bred in the sixties.

March 21, 2012

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International

The Bahamas has had four murder records in five years... ...Our politicians need not add hostility through public discourse in a nation that already has a violence problem

The tone of political rhetoric

thenassauguardian editorial

Over the last few weeks some very aggressive rhetoric has been exchanged between the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the Free National Movement (FNM).  During elections, debates should be fierce, but they should also be decent.

Former PLP Cabinet Minister Leslie Miller has called for a ‘truce’ between the PLP and FNM during the remainder of the election season.  Miller has made public jokes about State Minister for Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner’s weight and accusations directed at National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest that Turnquest said have offended his wife and family.

Turnquest has uttered homosexual innuendo about PLPs and also used words like rape and prostitution.  The FNM’s candidate for North Andros and the Berry Islands Desmond Bannister said the PLP had a bunch of geriatrics at its recent North Andros event.  Among those sitting up front were former Governor General A. D. Hanna, Dame Marguerite Pindling and retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez.

Politics is not for the weak and timid.  To enter the political arena one needs to be able to withstand attacks of all types.  Some of these attacks pertain to ideas, some to past conduct, some to the conduct of friends and relatives, some to relationships.

It is fair and reasonable for political adversaries to scrutinize the records of opponents.  In fact, such scrutiny by opponents and the media is essential to the functioning of our democracy.  The party that wins the general election will exercise executive control of the government.  The electorate should be presented with relevant information by the media and other parties so it can make the best possible decision.

A line should be drawn, though, at personal attacks that have nothing to do with governance, politics or policy.  Calling someone fat, for example, should not be part of the process.  Similarly, suggesting that people are gay, to disparage them, should not be how we campaign.  It is not illegal to be gay or fat in The Bahamas.

Furthermore, candidates definitely should not accuse opponents of crimes of violence they have no proof of.  Such an act should be condemned by all sides and should not be repeated from any political platform.

The nastier the personal attacks get, the more hostile the relationship gets between Bahamians on the various sides of the political divide.  If the rhetoric between the sides gets violent in nature, it is possible for supporters to take those verbal sentiments and to transform them into deeds and actions.

For the most part, there has been little violence in Bahamian politics.  This is something to be proud of.  It indicates that as a people we are able to disagree aggressively without needing to inflict physical harm on each other.

We should all work to keep our politics this way – aggressive but not unduly hostile.  In doing so we keep our country stable.  The Bahamas has had four murder records in five years.  Our politicians need not add hostility through public discourse in a nation that already has a violence problem.

Mar 12, 2012

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean Blog International

The protection of animals from abuse and neglect in The Bahamas: There is a widespread culture of brutality against animals...The stories of dogs and cats being beaten to death, lit on fire, decapitated, are too numerous to ignore... And, the links uncovered by mental health experts between animal cruelty and the other forms of violence and deviance makes this an issue that should be on everyone's agenda in a country plagued with crime and anti-social behaviour

Is animal protection in the wrong hands?




"The picking up of dogs
is not going to cure the problem - what's going
to cure the problem is
getting the animals spayed and neutered, keeping
dogs in your yard, and if
you want it to have puppies, you must find homes for those puppies and then
have them spayed. It's a
people problem, it's not
an animal problem."
-- Bahamas Humane Society President Kim Aranha





By PACO NUNEZ
Tribune News Editor



Animal rights activists say they were caught off guard by Minister of Agriculture Larry Cartwright's announcement that Animal Protection and Control Act has been in effect in New Providence for the greater part of a month.

The Act contains provisions for an animal control board and corps of wardens with the power to investigate claims of abuse and neglect, but the Bahamas Humane Society and other groups say they haven't been contacted to take part in either, despite being promised they would.

Instead, it seems the government has chosen to rely on authorities already in existence before the new Act was passed, particularly the Animal Control Unit that runs the notorious government pound.

In making this announcement, Mr Cartwright said: "The laws are only as good as the enforcement. That is our hope."

But how far the minister can have cause to be hopeful depends on how qualified members of this unit are to enforce the provisions of the new law, and animal rights campaigners who spoke to Insight are somewhat less than optimistic.

As the name implies, there are two aspects to the Act - animal protection and animal control. The unit has always been associated with the latter.

When interviewed in 2009, its supervisor Kirkland Glinton characterised their role as controlling a potential public health issue.

Their task, he said, is to round up stray animals in order to "remove the disease element from the population."

The unit captures and euthanises around 50 dogs a week, but this has little impact on the number wandering the streets of New Providence.

Mr Glinton admitted that by the time 50 dogs are collected and killed, another 50 have already appeared in the same areas.

To make any progress at all on the control front, the unit's staff require more support, training and education, the administrators said in 2009.

They also called for an additional 15 or 20 staff to help run the unit; more equipment, ranging from vehicles and traps to animal food, cleaning agents and syringes; building repairs, and a facility where animals can be tested for diseases to separate the healthy from the ill.

According to a number of animal rights activists that take an interest in the unit's activities, nothing has changed over the last two years.

One said: "There has been no training of any kind. The unit is still manned by the same number of people and conditions haven't improved at all."

So much for control.

But what of the other aspect of the Act - the protection of animals from abuse and neglect?

That there is a widespread culture of brutality against animals no one denies. The stories of dogs and cats being beaten to death, lit on fire, decapitated, are too numerous to ignore.

And, the links uncovered by mental health experts between animal cruelty and the other forms of violence and deviance makes this an issue that should be on everyone's agenda in a country plagued with crime and anti-social behaviour.

But far from contributing to the protection of animals, the unit has been accused in the past of actually adding to the problem.

Before the Tribune's interview with the unit's administrators in 2009, a 14-year-old student wrote to the newspaper to share the horrors he claimed to have seen at the pound.

He described: a live dog locked in a kennel with a dead dog, faeces covering the floors of the kennels, and animals locked up without food and water.

His complaints sparked public outrage and the formation of an activist group demanding better conditions at the pound. It quickly attracted more than 500 members.

The Ministry of Agriculture was quick to issue a statement denying the claims and chastising the young boy, but an unannounced visit from The Tribune confirmed the substandard conditions.

If there have been any changes in the past two years, they have been invisible to animal cruelty campaigners.

How then, are we to trust this unit to protect animals from violence at the hands of humans?

The new Act does contain stiffer fines and penalties for those who abuse and neglect their pets, but the problem was never that an offender could not be deterred because the consequences were too light; but rather that he or she usually never actually faced any - despite the existence of fines and penalties under the old laws.

The Cabinet has chosen to implement the act in New Providence first, precisely because there is an Animal Control Unit here. Yet in Grand Bahama, where the lack of a government agency has caused the local Humane Society to take the lead, much more has been done in recent years to enforce animal cruelty laws.

This included one or two high profile prosecutions and awards being offered for information when an abused animal is discovered. I don't remember the last time any of this happened in Nassau.

The example of Grand Bahama points the way to how the Act should be implemented: those who have been trained and have experience in animal control should be better supported in their efforts, but wherever possible, the power of enforcement should be placed in the hands of the campaigners and volunteers who care deeply about animals and who already dedicate time and energy to the improvement of their lot.

These should be the government's new wardens, and should be given the authority to call in law enforcement at the slightest sign of animal abuse or neglect.

Only then can we have any real hope of breaking the culture of contempt for the rights of animals which has led to our stray problem in the first place.

At the end of the day, protection is the best form of control.

* What do you think?

pnunez@tribunemedia.net

November 28, 2011

tribune242 Insight

Caribbean Blog International

The social climate in The Bahamas is one that lends itself to violence... Poverty, frustration due to the lack of opportunity and creative outlets, alcohol and marijuana abuse, verbal and physical abuse as a means of rearing children, noise and dirt, poor educational achievement, weak state regulation of an array of activities, unemployment, poor housing, and widespread corruption create an enabling environment for criminality

Gangster’s Paradise Part 4

By Ian G. Strachan

Thirty-eight years after independence, we are (in the net) not much better off as a people.  Despite all of our blessings, we have squandered many of the gifts and have not achieved our national potential.  We are living in an era, a time; we are experiencing a moment in this civilization’s history when we are obliged to stop, to reflect, to take note and to question all that we have thought to be right and true.  We must look critically and honestly at our current course, define our preferred destination and reset our course. - Senator Dr. Duane Sands, October 26, 2011

 

Senator Dr. Duane Sands’ words strike the right chord but they, in the end, are just words.  We face a situation that is far more troubling than those who want our votes will ever admit to.   When I speak to people who know, people who have seen the underbelly of this country up close, they tell me the system, from top to bottom, is plagued by corrupt players.  Where then is the hope?

Certainly we must root out corruption; certainly we must do our best to police neighborhoods, as well as stop and punish criminals, but we must also understand that our greatest hope is in prevention.   I noted last week that I would focus on seven areas.  First we looked at social justice and inequality, at education and at parenting.  We continue now with four more areas of concern.

Discipline and order

The social climate in The Bahamas is one that lends itself to violence.  Poverty, frustration due to the lack of opportunity and creative outlets, alcohol and marijuana abuse, verbal and physical abuse as a means of rearing children, noise and dirt, poor educational achievement, weak state regulation of an array of activities, unemployment, poor housing, and widespread corruption create an enabling environment for criminality.  Bahamians need discipline.  We are an unruly people, accustomed to ad hoc approaches and shortcuts, bribery and curry favoring.  We want punishment doled out for gross offenses like murder, but by and large we want to be left alone to duck taxes, steal by way of employment, buy stolen goods, hire illegal immigrants, break traffic laws, keep a filthy yard, etc.… How do we “reset our course”?

Here are some suggestions.  I’m sure you can think of others.  These will have a cumulative effect on the psyche of Bahamians:

· Legalize and regulate Numbers.   Government should even consider a complete takeover of the industry.  If not, it should heavily tax it and control the number of outlets, hours of operation, and the zones in which they are allowed to operate locations.  Begin seriously educating the public (starting with kids) on the follies of gambling.  Establish services for gambling addicts.

· Bring bars and nightclubs under tighter regulation.   Reduce the number of liquor outlets and control where they can be located.  Strictly enforce the legal drinking age.  Raise the age.  Prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sunday.  Close all bars and clubs at 1 a.m. and heavily police them at closing time.  Include breathalyzer tests in road block inspections.   Increase taxes on alcohol.

· Introduce a unified bus system, including dedicated school buses.  Bring all public buses on strict regulation and management and have them run on a schedule.  Remove loud music from buses.

· Increase the number of public/environmental health inspectors to ensure sanitary conditions of homes and yards with a system of warnings and fines for homeowners and landlords who do not ensure proper sewage disposal or proper garbage containment and collection, and who do not remove derelict vehicles and debris, or who have overgrown yards.

· Crack down on noise makers: whether they are private cars, public buses, corner prayer meetings or bars trying to attract customers.

· Introduce cameras that can catch people driving without seat belts, running lights, riding without helmets or skirting through gas stations to avoid stopping.

Community development

· Follow the recommendation of the 1994 Task Force on Youth Development and establish a network of community centers in every constituency.  Use church spaces or schools after hours.  Provide tutoring, sports leagues for all ages, adult literacy, life-long learning, and Big Brother/Big Sister programs.  Fund these centers through the Ministries of Youth and Education, churches and area businesses.  Take funds for constituencies out of MPs hands and put it in the hands of local boards that can govern and run these community centers.

· Increase funding for all existing outreach and youth organizations, such as Boys Brigade, Scouts, Brownies, Island Stewards, Focus etc.  These groups shouldn’t have to beg for money each year.  Demand data collection and longitudinal studies to track the careers of children in such programs, to ensure that support is justifiable through evidence which proves they prevent delinquency and violent behavior.  (Revisiting the work of Safe Bahamas might be a good start).

· Government should make it a point, through the Ministry of Youth and Culture, or National Security or Social Development, to assist with technical support and funding, in the creation of a Neighborhood Improvement Association in every New Providence neighborhood.  Neighborhood churches can also be enlisted.  These organizations can help police, and help maintain clean neighborhoods and build community cohesion.    They can also lend support to the vulnerable in their midst.  Sadly, most communities will not do this work on their own.  Leadership and support are needed.

Manhood

At some point this country must acknowledge that the problem of violent crime and crime against the person and property is a male problem.  Males are almost always the perpetrators.  To address crime then, address the socialization and education of males; and we must focus intently on identity formation among boys.  Media images and social mores support a version of manhood that is in many ways destructive and anti-social.  This is at the heart of male violence, male academic underachievement, male disengagement from civil society, male absence from the lives of children, male violence toward women and children, and the pressures on males to rob, steal and deal to acquire and maintain female affections.

Criminal justice

Some cry out for hanging.   Hanging does not deter crime.  As Irwin Waller, author of “Less Law, More Order”, notes, “The rates of homicide are unaffected by whether capital punishment is used or not.  For instance, the rate of decline in rates of homicide in the United States has been similar to that in Canada since 1976 when the United States reinstated the use of the death penalty and Canada took it out of its criminal code.”

I understand the call for the death penalty in a society where 95 percent of the murders between 2005 and 2009 went unpunished by the time of Chaswell Hanna’s 2011 study.  People want to see murderers punished, even more than they want future murderers deterred.  The bitter truth is most crimes (of whatever sort) in this country will forever remain unpunished.  I repeat therefore that our greatest hope is prevention.

Nonetheless, I believe that there is value in making an example of those you do capture and convict.  I believe in reform, but I also believe in appropriate punishment and restorative justice.   Victims, in my view, are best served when their victimizers are made to repay and must face those they made suffer.

I support life sentences for murder (30 years minimum).  Give the murderer no choice but to live with the consequences of his actions; the death penalty in my view is an easy out.  While in prison, make the lifer work for the state and for the victims.  Give him every opportunity to contribute to the society he attempted to destroy.

I also believe we need a national conversation about sentencing.  It should not be left solely to political parties and their MPs to decide.  A recent sentence handed down on a notorious trafficker left me stunned.  The Americans must think we are ridiculous.

We must decriminalize drug use (marijuana and cocaine), and approach these phenomenon as public health issues.  However, since the U.S. may never end the prohibition on these substances, we must get serious about sentencing traffickers.  The danger of course is that cracking down on traffickers doesn’t do away with the traffic; it in fact promotes more violent crime as new players and rivalries over turf emerge.  Which brings us right back to education, social justice, parenting, the economy, etc.

As we crack down on drug traffickers we must ask ourselves this: if possession of a firearm is four years (the public thinks this is too mild by the way), how much do you give the gun trafficker?

If we want to be tougher on crime, we must also be tougher on those who are supposed to uphold the law but instead pervert it.  All judges and magistrates should be appointed through public hearings and their finances should be scrutinized annually.  The same for high ranking policemen and defense force officers; customs, immigration and prison officials; and those who work for the AG’s Office.  They should also all be subject to random drug tests.

In the end, so many of these suggestions come down to one thing: money, money, money, and that is in seriously short supply in this country.  But more than money, it speaks to will, courage, and character.  Are we prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that in 10 to15 years we have a more peaceful, more orderly country than we do today?  If so, we must all make sacrifices, and we must all share the burden.  Otherwise, we’ll continue on our current “course” – anything buckup go.

Nov 14, 2011

Gangster’s Paradise Part 3

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

We live in one of the most violent countries in the world

‘A phenomenal burden’

By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com


A closer look at the impact of crime on PMH


The high level of violent crime is stretching resources all around, and officials at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) know that all too well. “I think that it has been said repeatedly that the impact of violence, crime, accidents on the public health care system has been almost overwhelming,” said Senator Dr. Duane Sands, who is consultant surgeon at PMH.

“The national statistics would seem to suggest that we have a murder count of whatever. In reality that number, the number of absolute deaths from violence belies the real problem.

“And this is not a new phenomenon. This is something that has been going on now for at least a decade.”

But Sands noted that the hospital continues to see more gunshot victims than in the past.

“We see on average in this country, in excess of 400 major stabbing or shooting traumas (every year),” he added.

“What has happened in the last three years is we’ve seen the knife been replaced by the gun. And so what that does to the emergency room, what that does to the operating room, the Intensive Care Unit and the wards is put a phenomenal burden [on them].”

According to information provided by Sands, in 2000, there were 323.6 assaults recorded for every 100,000 inhabitants in the United States.

By extrapolation, The Bahamas might anticipate 900 to 1,000 assaults per year.

Instead, it is recording more than 3,000 at PMH alone.

“We live in one of the most violent countries in the world,” he noted in a recent presentation at the Medical Association of The Bahamas conference.

“Trauma is a major public health problem.”

Sands noted in an interview with National Review that Medical Advisor to the Public Hospitals Authority Dr. Glen Beneby recently released a report that examined occupancy rates in all of the hospitals that fall under the PHA.

He said while there is no question that PMH is challenged on most wards (Pediatrics, Gynecology, Obstetrics etc.), occupancy rates on the surgical wards range from 92 percent to 104 percent.

Hospital officials have created another ward in what used to be the out patient area of PMH.

“If we look at the impact on the operating room, the operating room basically has now been forced to focus on emergencies and trauma,” Sands said.

“If you look at the impact on the Intensive Care Unit, the Blood Bank; if you look at the impact on the pathology lab (it’s great).”

This means that on many occasions, elective surgeries are constantly put off, Sands noted.

“And so if you look at the impact on health care in general from violence, it is a lot more significant than just the numbers we are seeing in the public,” he said.

“Resources are indeed stretched and we take this as a duty. We have to respond. And so the hospital responds however we can.”

What the public sees from this growing problem is increased waiting times, a shortage of blood at the Blood Bank and the postponement of those elective surgeries, as mentioned.

“This is the real impact of the violence and trauma on regular, ordinary people,” Sands added.

“It is a big, big problem.”

A RISKY ENVIRONMENT

“If you look at the impact of all of the violence and trauma, let’s take my house staff in surgery or in the emergency department, they are constantly exposed to the most outrageous forms of violence — seeing people beaten, stabbed, raped, molested etc.,” Sands told National Review.

“It is almost surreal, the impact on these individuals...They see the worst of people every single day. You couple that with a public response, which is not terribly supportive...and while we understand this, bear in mind that those two things put together create a very challenging emotional and psychological environment that we try to provide support for.

“To be very candid with you I don’t think we do as good a job as we should.”

The high stress level for the medical professionals is sometimes worsened when street fights continue into the emergency room.

“Notwithstanding that we have beefed up security significantly, it is not foolproof,” Sands said.

The government spends a significant amount on initiatives to provide a safe environment for staff and patients, noted Coralee Adderley, PMH administrator.

She said there may be a need to improve security even further.

“I would say that 20 years ago as a young administrator the weekend report, when you got [it] on a Monday morning, a stab here or there, a gun shot once a month was a big story,” she said.

“Now it’s almost every day and that’s a huge cause for concern.

“Any particular evening you can find that the emergency room is inundated with shootings, stabbing and so forth.

“That coupled with the fact that a lot of these patients, once they are admitted to hospital are in police custody. So that creates another dynamic for us, not just in the emergency room.”

Dr. Sarah Friday, the physician in charge of A&E, admitted the situation takes a personal emotional and psychological toll.

“I’ve been in emergency medicine for quite some time and after a while the [constant flow of trauma] patients coming in and you’re not getting to see other people with the [other] medical problems as quickly because maybe somebody with a gunshot to the chest or a stab to the arm or something like that would take precedence,” Friday said.

“You have other people with the other medical emergencies but because of the time sensitive nature of a person who is bleeding you find that other persons may have a delay in their care because we have someone who’s bleeding and that of course will take priority.

“If you talk to a lot of the staff it does take a toll on you because you walk out of the trauma room having seen somebody stabbed to the chest and then you turn around and then somebody, a diabetic patient for instance who may have missed his medication, and you’ve just left somebody who may have died.

“And so [when you see] the next patient you’re still carrying that burden of a young 17-year-old just shot to the chest and is now dead and you have to see that next patient.”

A DOUBLE THREAT

With chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) already placing a strain on health care services, the rising cases that stem from violence are worsening an already bad situation.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which is the regional arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), predicts a 300 percent increase in deaths from cardiovascular diseases in the region over the next 20 years.

Sands pointed out in his recent presentation at the Medical Association of The Bahamas conference that The Bahamas, like the rest of the Caribbean and America, is experiencing an epidemic of deaths and morbidity from the CNCDs such as obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, tobacco use, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets.

Sands indicated that violence and trauma divert scarce resources from other medical conditions and have done so for many years.

He also noted that the “culture” of violence creates a hazardous work environment that adds to absenteeism and attrition among medical staff.

Sands also noted that trauma patients not operated on in a timely fashion suffer more infections and thrombotic complications.

THE WAY FORWARD

“The debate about the way forward with health care is a debate about choices,” Sands said.

“And this government has made it very clear that it is going to adjust the resources upward for the provision of health care and has done a number of things.

“There is no question that we need a new hospital and that is going to create a whole lot of discussion about where those funds are coming from.”

The government had intended to use proceeds from the sale of a majority stake in Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to build a new hospital.

But with a dramatic downturn in the economy, the government was forced to increase borrowing, which resulted in rising debt levels.

The new plan is to use the proceeds from the sale of BTC to Cable and Wireless Communications to pay down the debt.

The government has instead opted to build a new critical care block on PMH’s compound. It will have an additional six operating rooms.

“But we have other challenges that have to be dealt with and we are preparing various position papers to put forward to the administration and the Ministry (of Health) to consider,” Sands said.

“While we all have a duty to try and intercede [as a result of] this carnage that’s going on in this country, we (PMH) have to stand in the gap.

“So the physicians, the nurses, the ancillary staff, the hospital administrators, we don’t have a choice. This hospital does not close and we have to do what we can with the resources that we have.”

Sands said, “It is a real, real problem and it is the direct impact of everything that’s going on and the choices that Bahamians are making, and fundamentally resolving this is going to require the energy and the effort of every single Bahamian.”

He said the hope is that there is not a further escalation in demands being placed on PMH because the hospital has no other choice but to care for people who come for treatment.

Adderley added, “Despite the sometimes negative comments that we hear in the news from patients and family members, we do have a group of committed individuals here who want to see improvements to this facility, to our health system to provide the best in care.”

4/17/2011

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International