Gang culture and violence has come upon us quite suddenly. None of us truly knows what to do about it. Theories, speeches and actions range from the absurd to the extreme. We have Vance Amory on VON appealing to the gangs to stop the violence as it is harming the country. You might as well appeal to Ghadafi to become a Christian and hand himself over to the International Criminal Court for genocide. We have the Federal legislature drafting a Gang (Prohibition and Prevention) Bill outlawing gangs, rendering someone who is or attempts to become a member of a gang liable to ten years imprisonment on summary (Magistrate alone) conviction. For encouraging someone to become a member of a gang a person is liable to twenty five years in prison on conviction on indictment (Judge and Jury).
A police officer is given power to arrest without warrant a person whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe is a member of a gang. The prison in Basseterre was designed for 60 inmates. The latest figures show 248. Do we really intend to add a fair number of gang members, some quite young, as semi permanent residents to an already grossly overcrowded scene? Recruitment to gangs can and does take place in prison. Rehabilitation. Restorative Justice. Not a chance. Under this Act we are to incarcerate young persons in despairing conditions for long periods. Will there be, physically, any place left for the last arrived on the concrete floor of the cells where most inmates sleep?
One does not want to be a ‘bleeding heart liberal’, blaming all the violence on the deprived nature of an individual’s background. But on the other hand the first part of the Anti-Gang Bill is of a ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ variety. I wish that as a part of this debate, Kenneth Williams who knows more than I do about prison conditions, who can write, and has a newspaper in which to do so, would describe as fully as possible the conditions in which our citizen prisoners are obliged to live out their lives. So far, mouth shut, pen dry. We should oblige our legislators and our executive to consider the current conditions of imprisonment. They may not be able to make any immediate improvement, but we would like them to be aware of what is happening on their watch. There are no votes in amelioration of prison conditions. It would just be an expression of common humanity, and would lessen the possibility of a riot.
I wish also that some of our politicians would not use the current outburst of gang shootings to target their opponents. We have Brantley saying that Douglas and Parry do not care about crime. I take it that we are all concerned about gun crime. We do not feel as safe as formerly. We know it to be a serious threat to our economy. I can’t believe that the Prime Minister and the Premier are the only ones who remain unmoved. We need a debate whose purpose is to produce the best available solutions, not one whose object is to show opponents in a bad light.
At the end of the Draft (anti) Gang Bill there are several sections under the heading ‘Deterrence and prevention of at-risk youth from joining groups’. These sections do not create offences, rather, they proclaim, vaguely, some worthy aims. Further resources should be made available to the police. Gang resistance education programmes and training projects should be initiated focusing on ‘instilling in the youth the evils of participating in violence and crime…, creating public awareness on the need to eradicate and prevent violence…and the steps that ought to be taken to achieve that goal…’
This is a declaration that an action plan is needed. It is not a plan in action. However, it may show that those who drafted it and those who will debate it are aware that what the community has to do is the hardest task of all, requiring universal commitment, that is to change the attitudes of those in the gangs and their followers. The Bill offers no real guidance how this should be done, by whom, when and where nor what personnel or facilities are to be set the task. Good intentions, no specifics, no bite. No use.
St. Kitts-Nevis gang crime problems are scarcely unique. If we want a working solution we should at least study reports made and plans used in other places.
In a report by Y Care International in 2006 we read: ‘The prevalence of gangs is an acute problem in a number of…countries. … States have been slow to develop effective prevention, rehabilitation and re-integrative programmes, but quick to introduce punitive measures which result in children and young people being locked up for long periods of time. This approach has failed to address the root causes of gang membership or encourage young people to leave their gangs…. The overuse of detention…. Instead of reducing youth crime this expensive approach simply delays and exacerbates the problem…(For a hopeful response) the underlying belief is that children and young people can be influenced positively compared to adults. They are at a stage in their lives when they are still developing their beliefs, attitudes and personalities, which can be shaped by rehabilitative and educational measures. Conversely, purely punitive measures… can stunt this development and their life chances and lead to an escalation in offending’.
In the real word of Chicago, criminal gangs have been a feature since at least the days of Al Capone in the 1920’s. There is now an anti-violence project called ‘Ceasefire’, with the slogan ‘Stop. Killing. People.’ The founder, Dr. Slutkin thinks that violence should be treated not as a moral crisis but as a preventable disease. Liberals say that if the complex of social injustices, poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, racism, drug abuse and alienation are tackled then violence will lessen. Slutkin suggests that this may be the wrong way round. Reduce the violence and many things may improve. Ceasefire set up a specialist group mostly of reformed ex prisoners and former gang members. They were called the Violence Interrupters. Their function was to attempt to reconcile street disputes to prevent escalation to serious violence. They do not challenge gangs, and do not act as informers. They have to build personal relationships with those at risk so that when a crisis comes they are trusted. Of course it all depends upon the quality, intelligence and commitment of the Interrupters. It is their criminal past that allows them to do what they do, and means that those they deal with are not afraid of them. Much of the street violence is a result of interpersonal conflict rather than gang related disputes. Shootings and killings have been reduced by 41-73% over a number of year.
That is what has happened in Chicago. It may be a guide useful to us. We need to know and understand what methods of reducing gang crime have been successful elsewhere so that we can adapt and adopt for ourselves. At this moment we do have an unusual unexpected opportunity to find out. Under the auspices of Operation Future there will be a two-day conference entitled ‘Rescue from the Abyss – Bringing our Children out of the Gangs’ at the University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Basseterre, on August 23rd and 24th (9 am – 4 pm on both days). This conference, which is free, has been organised by Dan McMullin, and those in the City of Regina (population 210,000), Canada, responsible for or playing a part in the Regina Anti Gang Services (RAGS). RAGS is having considerable long term success in persuading gang members to reintegrate into society. Key persons, Police Chief (of Regina) Troy Hagen, Judge Linton Smith – Provincial Court Judge – Province of Saskatchewan, Robert Hurley, former gang member, and others will tell us how RAGS works and with our input what they suggest might work for us.
I am glad to see that C G Walwyn, our new Police Commissioner will also feature.
Now this is probably the conference of the decade. It says a lot for Dan McMullin that he has been able to persuade these busy, top flight people to give up their time – for free – to try to assist us. We must play our part. If we are to benefit from this conference we have to attend and participate. Apart from the efforts of Operation Future we do not have an integrated plan to prevent gang crime. What I hope will happen is that there will be a strong attendance of the Police, of the decision makers in society, and especially of those whose daily lives bring them into contact with the young, the teachers. So often people go to conferences and at the time perhaps find them interesting, but do not follow up, and so the long term effect of the conference is slight. This conference is an extraordinary opportunity. I hope it will be televised for both islands in full as it happens, that transcripts will be taken and made available on web sites that at least a few teachers from every school attend so that they can head seminars at their respective schools. For more information contact: Joann on 662 9888, or e-mail: dan@sknoperationfuture.com
Now is the time for a fresh start. We have a new Commissioner, and in the person of that excellent police officer Hilroy Brandy, a new Superintendent for Nevis.
As to the conference, will people who should attend actually do so without some kind of firm instruction – carrot or stick – from their employers? This is a matter, an important one, for our political leaders.
The intended impact of the draft Bill, to arrest and imprison our way towards a reduction in gang gun crime will fail. If our attitude towards this conference is negative – what do those Canadians know of our culture – we will not advance. If we recognise that it is a gang culture of alienated youth that we are dealing with and that this is what in the City of Regina these Canadians have had success with we can with their assistance form an action plan for St. Kitts-Nevis.
As a personal suggestion I would like these Canadians to see around and ascertain the conditions in our prison, and I would suggest that if a number of gang members attended the conference it could be to their and our advantage.
