Our Crime Crisis: Beyond Badge and Boots: Part I

(Note: This is a three-part series aimed at stimulating community engagement in solving what seems to be an intractable problem)

Everybody is talking about it: in bars and restaurants; in beauty salons and barber shops, in supermarkets and grocery stores: crime, particularly armed robbery, has gotten out of hand. They have become more brazen, more aggressive and more dangerous. The first thing we have to do, therefore, is admit that we are in a major crisis. So, to get a handle on it, we must act accordingly as any society would normally do in a crisis.

Some four decades ago, former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, facing persistent IRA bombs told her nation:

“Crime and violence injure not only the victim, but all of us, by spreading fear and making the streets no-go areas for decent people…”

This should inform our attitude towards the current upsurge in criminal activity on the island. All of us are victims of this assault on our collective safety and not just the direct targets of the robberies and certainly not only our tourism economy which is everyone’s bread and butter.

This is why this national crisis, tragic in some cases, should be addressed with an urgent national dialogue involving ALL the stakeholders in our safety and security: government, police, public prosecutor, business, banks, churches, social and cultural clubs and foundations, community councils and very importantly our youth and youth organizations.

Our response to crisis situations cannot always be running to The Hague for help. There is no country in the world that has solved its crime and violence problems through outside intervention alone. Haiti is a perfect example of this. The UN forces failed woefully there and the Kenyan police contingent that was deployed to help has not been able to arrest the gang violence that has plagued that country for years.

The crime crisis we are facing is not just a matter of statistics; it is obviously a visible failure of our societal structure.

The observable reality is that the criminals have focused on three highly disruptive areas: first it was the high incidence of car theft (with specific models and rental vehicles frequently targeted); then we witnessed an alarming increase in armed robberies targeting neighborhood grocery stores and supermarkets, especially those owned by certain ethnic groups, an act that spread immediate fear and distress across local communities; and now the persistence of high-stakes, sometimes violent, jewelry store robberies.

The current crime pattern, particularly among our youth, is a symptom of deeper social and systemic failures. Real safety and security require a shift from reactive law enforcement to proactive, community-based intervention and investment in our youth.

While the impulse to call for more policing is understandable, true and sustainable security requires us to look deeper than the badge, the squad car, or military boots. We must acknowledge that the high rate of juvenile delinquency is a symptom of systemic failure, driven by poverty, lack of opportunity, and deeply fragmented social support. The only way to reclaim our island's promise of a safe and prosperous society is through a decisive shift from reactive law enforcement to proactive, community-based intervention and comprehensive investment in our most valuable asset: our young people.

This does not mean we shouldn’t address the structural shortcomings of our law enforcement agencies - from dismal working conditions to low wages and from dilapidated facilities to inadequate equipment. But we cannot be calling for outside assistance while we have scores of officers sitting home - for whatever reasons- with pay, doing nothing. How can we talk of “lack of capacity” in such a situation?

(Part II will analyze the situation and explore possible ways to combat the rise in violent crime).

‍