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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Dear Editor,
THE LAYERS OF CRIME
Everybody is talking about crime on the surface, but not many people are examining the many multi-faceted layers surrounding this phenomenon which impact whether society’s efforts to combat it will have any significant effect.
Crime is a huge challenge - a multi-layered one. Like an onion, each layer requires thorough examination, understanding, and analysis, and like an onion, as we strip down each interconnecting layer one by one, we can be assured that it will bring tears to our eyes.
The following are some of those layers I wish to bring into view for persons to think about as we talk and weep about crime in The Bahamas today:
SOCIETY
A society is formed by groups of persons who are known as citizens. They have to live together and they require rules and laws which citizens should follow in order that the society functions efficiently and effectively – otherwise there will be chaos.
FAMILY
A basic family structure can be extended to comprise several generations of persons who might be alive - from great grandparents, grandparents, mother, father, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles. In an ideal family structure there are two parents who produce a child or children. The parents (as the older person and caregiver) should provide an atmosphere of safety and protection for their helpless baby/babies who are born into the world, needing care in every sense of the word (food, shelter, clothing, protection). Parents are the ones who should care for, train and discipline their child/children as they grow. Parents and the extended family should model positive values and morals.
The family structure is where a person should develop their understanding of love, compassion, respect, manners, responsibility, discipline, and consequences. Raising a child is one of the most crucial responsibilities a parent/parents/family/caregiver can have in order to shape the formation of a healthy family and a healthy society.
How do we rate in this department?
COMMUNITY
The people who make up these families have to live with other groups of people and families, and together they form a community in partnership with one another. A community is a macrocosm (a larger version) of the family structure and a microcosm (a smaller version) of the society and it also requires rules and laws with order and discipline - otherwise there would be chaos.
SCHOOL
A school is the institution which the children of the society attend as students from an early age to gain an education. It is also another form of community that requires rules and discipline. A school is where teachers should provide the students with a love for learning as they impart knowledge and learning skills in a safe and disciplined environment. In the school environment teachers are the child’s caregiver.
Teachers have an awesome responsibility in shaping the minds and lives of the students in their care. Teachers should be properly and competently trained in order to be effective, and the school environment should be properly equipped, structured and managed in order to operate effectively – otherwise there will be chaos.
CHURCH
The church is another institution in society which cares for the spiritual souls of society during their life on earth as well as after death. The church should bring training, comfort, order and discipline to a society by encouraging its member to follow specific ideologies and rules for righteous living with respect and compassion for one another. The role of the church is to act as a stabilizing force in society in order to counter chaos of the mind, body and soul.
GOVERNMENT
Government is an entity comprised of persons from society who join together as a group with an ideology which they present to the citizens to allow them to direct the affairs of the society. In order to perform effectively and efficiently, a government must have a wide overview and understanding of how the many facets of society operate. Government should be an extremely organized entity with multiple units comprised of skilled and competent personnel with a clear action plan in order to supervise, administrate, and regulate the many layers of society – otherwise there will be chaos.
LAW AND ORDER
Society is composed of people. Society requires structure. Discipline requires rules and laws. Rules and laws require enforcement to be carried out by society’s national security forces (police, defence, prison). Enforcement ensures order. Breaking laws requires consequences. Without consequences, rules and laws become ineffective and chaos reigns.
JUSTICE
Society requires institutions (courts) to oversee the impartial and fair dispensing of justice if law and order is not followed. These institutions require extreme competence, organization, efficiency and effectiveness. Personnel at all levels must be properly trained and highly competent. There must be adequate, competent resources for the effective administration of justice in a timely manner - otherwise there will be chaos.
CHAOS is “a state of utter confusion” in which CRIME proliferates.
Yours sincerely,
Pam Burnside
Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his/her
private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of
TheBahamasWeekly.com
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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