-crime conference agrees
Incarceration should be a last resort for first time offenders, according to participants at the just-concluded national crime prevention conference, which also supported initiatives to promote the social development of young people to prevent involvement in crime.
According to recommendations of the conference, released yesterday by the Home Ministry, locking away first-time offenders could lead them to further criminality. Community service was identified as an alternative, depending on the nature of the offence.
Participants of the conference, held under the theme ‘Making Our Communities Safer,’ also propose that facilities should be created for first time offenders to be segregated from hard core criminals. The proposals to combat violent crime ranged between social engineering schemes- such as the introduction of moral education in the school system and censorship of certain types of music-and punitive measures such as the reintroduction of the death penalty and the use of the cat-o-nine tails.
Addressing “Youth, Gangs and Violent Crime-Prevention and Intervention,” participants noted that young people are disproportionately represented in the system as victims and perpetrators of violent crimes. They felt that the situation could be addressed through the criminal justice system, combined with a focus on the reduction of opportunities to commit crimes, and the promotion of social development. To this end, their recommendations called for the establishment of more recreational facilities in communities to be given consideration. In addition, participants also called for greater pro-active parent/teacher associations in schools; frequent visits by Police/Welfare Officers to schools; a revisiting of the dress code for children attending school activities; the establishment of a “personality development institute” or ‘Boot Camp’ to deal with some of the issues involving youths; and greater job creation for youths.
The use of reformed prisoners to educate in-school youths of their experiences in Prisons was recommended for consideration. So too was revisiting the age of consent.
The culture offensive
Looking at the Role of Arts, Culture and Education in comprehensive prevention strategies, the participants noted that culture could serve as a bridge to broader civic engagements. They pointed to studies that have shown that after-school programmes for young people improved interpersonal, conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills and decreased emotional problems, anti-social behaviour, academic failure and alcohol abuse.
As a result, they felt that there should be the institutionalisation of culture and art programs for children of all ages in the school system; the re-instatement of prayers in schools should be considered; there should be an increase in awareness of crime and crime prevention strategies in schools; and that there should be a discouragement of the public playing of uncultured music (e.g passa passa music), that they felt promotes crime and gang violence.
Other proposals include the resuscitation of the President’s Youth Award Initiative, given the benefits of vocational skills and recreational training. There resuscitation of the schools’ feeding programme, in light of the economic and single parent phenomenon in Guyana was also floated.
Zero tolerance
Meanwhile, the participants also urged the Guyana Police Force and other law enforcement agencies to be more aggressive in their fight against drugs, saying there must be zero tolerance for drug dealers and that reduction should focus both on demand and supply.
The police force and the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) have come under severe criticism by a wide cross section of society for not effectively fighting illegal drugs. It has been noted by many that while many persons attempting to traffic in small amounts of cocaine and marijuana have been charged but no major drug dealer, many of whom are said to be operating legal businesses, has ever been placed before the courts.
The government has also come under fire for alleged links to persons trafficking in drugs, including convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan, who moved cocaine between Guyana and the US for many years.
The participants of the conference, who included members of the joint services, religious leaders, youths and members of the civil society, also recommended that aggressive anti-money laundering be undertaken and called for the consideration of the formulation of whistleblower legislation. They also recommended that persons found with small amount of marijuana be given non custodial sentences and that there be greater community involvement in the drug fight.
The conference, which was aimed at crime prevention, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs was the first of its kind and its goal was to create safer communities by equipping stakeholders with the knowledge, skills and institutional prevention platform to adequately address the problems of crime and violence in the country.
Liliendaal Declaration
At the end of the conference, which was held at the conference centre at Liliendaal, the participants also came up with what the ministry titled the ‘The Liliendaal Declaration on Crime Prevention.’ It is comprised of 27 committals made by the participants, including an undertaking to analyse public security problems from a comprehensive point of view, taking into account emerging threats, and to promote management instruments that facilitate and, where necessary, improve the effectiveness of public security policies. They also committed to strengthen and, where appropriate, establish policies and programmes for modernisation of the prison systems, and for design of sustainable social integration models, especially for youths.
They pledged to promote the modernisation of police management by incorporation transparency and accountability, enhance the professionalization of security forces, and improve the living and working conditions of their members. They would also encourage and strengthen citizen community participation in the implementation of public security plans and programmes and to promote the concept of community policing groups and enhance and strengthen those groups throughout the country and assist in the protection of their communities.
Further, the participants pledged that they would consider cooperation initiatives to increase knowledge of the different facets and impact of crime, in order to strengthen public security police structures and also to recognise the role of mutual legal assistance and extradition in response to the commission, execution, planning, preparation, or financing of terrorist acts and organised crime, in accordance with Guyana’s domestic law and established international conventions.
They also requested that the home minister convene future meetings on crime prevention, public safety and security.
