Dear Editor,

Minister of National Security Dwight Nelson has said he intends to introduce anti-gang measures to “end the cycle of crime”. Given a record number of murders last year, the public deserves more from the minister of national security than the promise of yet another set of harsh laws.

Over the past 30 years, crime has escalated despite draconian laws. Minister Nelson, therefore, needs to change the approach to the problem if he wants to bring about change in a positive direction. Appropriate action to reduce gang-related crime might well depend on answers to such questions as:

1. What is a gang? In some countries, gangs can be recognised by tattoos or colours. I am not aware that Jamaican gangs have symbols that identify members.

2. Is there a difference between a group and a gang? It may be unwise to assume that young men are gang members because they are illiterate, unemployed, live in poor communities, and play dominoes or football together.

3. What is the pay-off for gang membership? Our youth may be risking their lives and their freedom for the respect, support, and protection that they do not find in their homes or in the wider society. Besides, danger, violence, and mistrust of authority may have become the norm for them.

4. Where does gang activity appear most frequently? Gangs may be most evident in protecting community borderlines, but they are increasingly found in our schools. There are infant school “dons” as young as five years old, and “gang members” as young as three years old.

5. How can gang membership be identified? Alert parents and teachers might be able to note early signs: suspected drug use, secretive or anti-social behaviour, increase in possessions, and a spike in disciplinary problems.

6. Why have gangs grown so rapidly in recent years? According to former Minister of National Security Dr Peter Phillips a few years ago, Kingfish was formed specifically to “break up the organised and dangerous criminal gangs that are at the root of the gun violence”. The number of gangs had grown from 35 in 1994 to 86 in 2004 — the year Kingfish was set up. There are about 268 gangs today.

7. What is the cost or benefit of locking up alleged gang members? Jamaican lockups and prisons are known to create rather than rehabilitate criminals. In addition, systems to address juvenile misconduct are punitive rather than corrective, resulting in further alienation of youth.

Criminal activities by gangs need to be addressed urgently, in ways that curtail rather than increase the spread of gangs.

Yvonne McCalla Sobers

sobersy@yahoo.com