The issue of crime in Trinidad & Tobago can be looked at from various viewpoints, however, as a psychology student, I choose to view it through the eyes of a service provider in the field. I have heard (and seen) all sorts of thoughts and opinions, with people laying the blame all over the place, and coming up with all kinds of solutions, many of which are either immoral or illegal, or both. ("Fight fire with fire!", as they say.) Most people, I believe, are both genuinely concerned, and genuine in their belief that (their) solutions would work, however, they begin to lose my support when the suggestions reach to vigilantism and violation of the law. I think that those suggestions validate the behavior of criminals, and, for fear of their own lives (yes, criminals love themselves), would make them more violent, paranoid, and desperate, which, I think, is the worst kind of criminal to deal with in the first place. Further, most commentary fail to understand when "cause and effect" occurs, and, as such, often confuse the relationship between two variables (for example, TV violence and crime) with what, in most cases are correlations. In other words, TV violence does not "cause" crime, however, I agree, that there are strong (positive) correlations between the two. (As the amount of TV violence viewed increases, the level of crime also increases.) We must admit, though, that there are other variables: poverty, racism and discrimination, etc. Neither "causes" crime, but each has its own special relationship with/to crime.
To honestly answer the question, "How crime started in Trinidad & Tobago", one would have to say that it started with piracy and colonialism; the taking of another people's land, wiping them out, enslaving another group of people to build your wealth, then taking another group of people, who simply wanted a better life for their families, and coming up with a way to pay them well below what they were worth, namely, indentureship. At the same time, these peoples were taught in schools about these same "criminals": Christopher Columbus, Admirals Benbow and Nelson, and so on, and that their ancestors were uncivilized, inferior, pagan, non-human beings that needed Christianizing. TV and movies reinforced the glamorizing of criminal behavior and killing (with guns), in general: Jesse James, Casablanca, Oliver Twist, The Godfather... As a result, TNT culture absorbed these images, and calipsonians and steelbands began taking on names (and personas) to reflect these criminal influences. Names like Crossfire, Invaders, Tripoli, Casablanca, Tokyo, Lord Sniper, Mighty Terror, Bomber, etc., thus became normal sobriquets. One can only wonder how many panmen and others would have died during the violent steelband clashes, had guns been the weapon of choice over cutlasses; how many more helpless wives would have been shot instead of maimed or chopped by advantageous, abusive husbands.
So the "criminal" mentality is nothing new, and even among those of us who claim to be "law-abiding", many still break driving laws, drug laws, tax laws, real estate law, and the list goes on. Every individual in a society is influenced by a combination of spiritual, psychological, and physical factors, and both nurture (genetics, biological makeup, etc.) and nature (the environment and its benefits and/or hazards) play a role on a person's behaviors and attitudes. I am positive that among those involved in criminal activity, there would be a few that have psychological issues, some may actually have medical issues, while some will be (what we call) "pure rotten". Our criminal justice system need to seriously reconsider the benefits of treatment and rehabilitation; to house inmates (yes, criminals are people) in inhumane conditions poses further crime and health risks to our society. We cannot afford to lose our own humanity in attempting to solve the crime problem.
I am about to form a non-profit organization in Trinidad & Tobago focused on adolescent crime and gang activity. Our mission is to address what we believe is the main underlying issue with deviant behavior among our youth, namely, identity. Our approach is based on an old saying my mother used to always repeat: "Prevention is better than cure." In that light, we aim to be proactive rather than reactive, by intervening at appropriate moments, using innovative, age-relevant approaches to counsel and mentor "at risk" school-aged students. We understand that the social injustices of slavery (Maafa), colonialism and capitalism, discrimination and marginalization, have played their parts in our society's exponential decrease in quality of life, and that it will take the entire TNT village to solve our problems. Separation by "race", class, religion, political party, area, band "we from", or any other reason, is counterproductive to the effort. I read the most asinine comment where the author was suggesting that Trinidad's non-traditional "religions" (Orisha,Shango, etc.) and the spirits they evoke, as being the reasons for the escalation in crime. That sort of religious bigotry has to end; GOD gave us all the right to worship (or not) in the way we choose, granted that at the end of the day we all have to account for our choices. Until the images of Africans (and Indians) and people of African (and Indian) descent are corrected from "inferior, pagan, need to be "Christianized" and "born again", our society will continue to rob young minds of the knowledge of who they really are, what they are really capable of, and what choices they must make to get there. Society has rubbed their luxuries and wealth, their unapologetic egos and their individualism, their unwillingness to share or, at least help in some way, any way, for far too long. They ignored a problem that is now deeply rooted in the minds of these same youth now involved in criminal activity, and the "shoot "em up, and kill "em all" approach will not solve the crime problem. We must be willing to go to the source of the problem, conduct empirical research on "at risk" youth's attitudes and opinions on crime and gang activity, have alternative programs to reinforce fundamental moral values and distract youth from deviant behavior, have prisons and rehab programs the really rehab, get involved with the communities outside of our own, encourage the government to have a bonafide witness protection program that works with our neighbors and allies in the region’s relocation efforts (probably swap witnesses between countries), and finally, start thinking like a "village" again. Individual wealth and success are only as enjoyable as the ability to use them freely without fear or guilt.
I hope my comments are met with the genuine love from which they were sent.
Trini 2 D Bone!!!
Da Natty Professor
