Our Crime Crisis: Beyond Badge and Boots: Part II

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

There is no doubt that we need more police officers but the question still remains: are we making the most effective use of the ones we have now? What about the VKS? And the scores of private “security guards” we have on the island? How can we integrate all of them in a comprehensive crime fighting strategy?

I maintain that the lasting answer to our crime crisis will not be found solely in more handcuffs or longer jail sentences, but in proactively addressing the lack of constructive alternatives.

A more in-depth analysis of the crime situation raises a number of important questions. Who are the perpetrators of these crimes? Where do they come from? Some people link the current spike in robberies with foreigners who come to the island allegedly to carry out these nefarious acts. If that were true, who are their local collaborators? What is their modus operandi?

Who has the network, infrastructure and technical expertise to receive the stolen goods, resell them apparently to eager buyers, and in the case of jewelry, to transform them - melt the gold and silver and reshape them, turning them into totally different pieces that cannot be easily identified by their original owners?

Sources say 99% of the stolen jewelry are never recovered as they are usually shipped off island.

So, obviously, there are some big guns behind these criminal operations. Who is actually benefiting from the crimes? We need to follow the money in order to crack their networks. We need to find out who the crime bosses are lurking in the shadows, living in luxurious mansions, on or off island.

In discussing the rise in crime, we often tend to see it as a threat first and foremost to our tourism industry. Our efforts are therefore focused on protecting the sector. “Tourism does not leave an island; tourism is driven from an island,” Dr. Claude Wathey famously said, with St. Croix of the late 70s and 80s in mind. It was generally believed that increased crime on that island forced many tourists to seek safer destinations. But the real lesson we should draw from that experience is the marginalization of the youth.

How can we talk of protecting a tourism economy that doesn’t provide the basic needs of the people? Youth unemployment, which was at a staggering 29 percent in 2011, and a bleak outlook for the future have resulted in alienation for many of our young people who ask the critical question: prosperity for whom?

Our tourism economy, while apparently robust, does not seem to provide the necessary skills and opportunities for our youth, thus resulting in disengagement. For them, poverty alleviation sounds more like a political slogan than a serious plan to lift them out of their misery. They become prone to joining gangs that may ultimately engage in criminal activities.

It is said that globally, persons under-25 are most likely to be victims and suspects of crime. In St. Maarten, the Public Prosecutor has stated that poverty-related issues and a lack of preventative education, programs, and facilities contribute heavily to youth delinquency.

While some Caribbean countries like The Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, etc. often report high levels of violent crimes, St. Maarten has also experienced concerning trends, such as a murder rate increase from 20 per 100,000 in 2001 to 47 per 100,000 in 2003.

Given this alarming situation, our response cannot be limited to building a multimillion dollar, modern prison facility while we don’t have a stadium where our youth can play CONCACAF-approved international football matches. That is, simply put, misplaced priorities.

The socio-economic factors that contribute to youth crime include lack of parental supervision and dysfunctional family situations. Several years ago, there was a popular radio and TV ad that said something to the effect that “it is 9:00 PM. Do you know where your children are?” It was a reminder for better parental supervision.

There are also educational and structural gaps that are evident in our high school dropout rates. Studies have shown that young people dropping out of school are more likely to end up committing crimes. Similarly, gang affiliation has been detected in our schools, and the practice of youth defending territories with a code system shows a need for belonging and alternative structures.

According to the Law Enforcement Council there is no specific, integral prevention policy for juvenile delinquency, and structural interaction between involved organizations is lacking, with most of them operating in a "fragmented manner."

Against this background, early intervention, rehabilitation, and structural support—not just increasing patrols - would seem the logical way to go.

(Part III will look at some past initiatives and propose a possible plan of approach that would involve the whole community).

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