MINISTER of National Security Dr Horace Chang says teenagers involved in lottery scamming and having access to millions of dollars are being given enormous power that they are not mentally equipped to comprehend, which leads to violent behaviours.

“Some of the violence we are seeing is coming from the fact that advance-fee fraud [lottery scamming] is putting in the hands of children — 14- to 17-year-old boys — a power that they cannot handle.

“When you give a 15-year-old millions of dollars and they can buy a gun, buy cars for everybody; driving a Mark X; buy his mother, his sister, his aunties, friends high-end cars, you have given him a power that he doesn’t have the mental capacity to even understand, so killing becomes a part of life,” Dr Chang said as he made his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

He said that part of the solution to this issue is to find where these youngsters are and correct the problem at an early age. He said the majority of these young people are from volatile communities and who are in need of psychosocial intervention.

Dr Chang said the Needs Assessment for Case Management and Psychosocial Services Report, in 2021, and again in 2024, indicate a great need for increased psychosocial services within the areas surveyed.

The research indicates that in the areas surveyed there is a demand to serve about 10,000 young citizens in need of psychosocial services, but the capacity of the Ministry of Health is about 3,000. Dr Chang said the Government is working to boost this capacity.

“The only way we can redirect individuals is to start by reaching out to them in a professional way with the required psychosocial services…We [the Government] are doing some work, and while we are not everywhere yet we intend to get to most of those communities. In seeking to find and treat these families — because it’s not just individuals we have to treat, we have to treat families, working with the Crime Prevention Unit in the ministry and other agencies — we actually created additional professional sectors that will be helping in these communities,” he said.

According to Dr Chang, a cohort of individuals with the necessary social work and psychosocial skill sets have been trained and engaged to help divert these persons from a life of crime and dysfunctional behaviour.

These include 22 case managers, full-time professionals engaged through the Ministry of National Security who conduct risk-to-violence assessments of individuals, develop treatment plans, and direct persons to the various support services.

Their aim is to bridge the gap between needs and the available services. The case managers are supported by 60 community liaison aides and 46 psychological first aid responders, who will refer families and individuals with needs to the case managers.

In addition, 90 curfew monitors have also been engaged, 29 of which are gazetted by the courts as certified mediators. These individuals are community volunteers who are trained in basic conflict mediation. Their responsibility is to identify the vulnerable young people in the communities, who are often subject to child abuse, human trafficking and sexual abuse.

“We have embarked on a new and novel approach, in terms of social investment. The entire team of personnel indicated is involved in efforts to steer and direct individuals away from violence. In a collaborative way the team is working to resolve the social dysfunctions, maintain peace, and offer opportunities. The activities of the team are proactive and designed to prevent individuals from being either victims or perpetrators of criminal violence. As we are executing within the framework of existing agencies, it will be sustainable and become the normal social service process,” Dr Chang told Parliament.