BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHITE collar criminal activities have a direct impact on blue collar crimes that take place within the Federation. This is according to former Minister of National Security and founder of Operation Rescue G. A. Dwyer Astaphan.
Earlier this week, Astaphan appeared on his radio talk show ‘The Operating Room’ on WINNFM 98.9, where he was quite candid about his views on crime, the causes and possible solutions.
With conviction, he expressed that our society is characterized by dysfunction moral and ethical bankruptcy and corruption and questioned how law and order could thrive in such an environment.
“In such an environment there is no way that law and order can exist, far less flourish. In such an environment we could never have a stable sustainable productive and elegant society. Never, because of all of this dysfunctionality and corruption! It exists in our hearts and souls, in all fields of endeavour, in all walks of life, from top to bottom, from east to west, from captain to cook to preacher to teacher to farmer to carpenter to civil servant to politician, police, you name it. Not everybody but too many.”
The former Minister of Government said he is particularly concerned with the failure of leaders to address these issues.
“And you know what bothers me most about all of this? That our leaders have done virtually nothing to address and correct this syndrome. Indeed, if anything, they have made it worse, especially some of them with their bad examples and their poor human leadership.
“Leaders who have ganged up with criminals and leaders who have compromised their public or private trust by being corrupt will render the administration of law and order meaningless. Leaders who are involved in corruption and bobol and inefficient governance, and we have been having more than our fair share. They cause the cost of running the country to go up and that puts more pressure on the people, especially poor people. Creating more deprivation, more desperation, and there you go, blue collar crime rises.”
Astaphan intimated that once white collar crime is allowed to take place without consequence to the perpetrators, blue collar crime could not be controlled.
“Blue collar crime cannot be brought under control when white collar crime and corruption go unchecked; it just can’t happen. And I am not making any excuse for the viciousness that is going on. Don’t get me wrong, I am speaking in general terms and if we are to have solutions, we need to agree as to what the problems are. Then we have to agree that we have to fix those problems and we have to agree as to how to fix the problems.
“A lot of what you see on the street level is connected to people and things at higher levels. Leaders who turn a blind eye to white collar crime but claim that they want to stamp out blue collar crime are contributing to more blue collar crime. It’s as simple as that. Unscrupulous employers who take advantage of workers and business people who take advantage of consumers are just as guilty as the murderers and the bank robbers and the rapists.”
Astaphan’s comments come at a time when widespread outcry is being heard across the Federation resulting from recent shootings, murders, rapes, break-ins and other acts of criminality.
Members of the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce are among those who expressed that the nation is in a state of crisis and have called upon the Government to act quickly to arrest the problem.
