Anthony L. Hall is a descendant of the Turks & Caicos Islands, international lawyer and political consultant - headquartered in Washington DC - who publishes his own weblog, The iPINIONS Journal, at http://ipjn.com offering commentaries on current events from a Caribbean perspective

I do not mean to suggest, however, that the recent spate of murders (49 compared with only 25 at this time last year) is not cause for concern. Although it is instructive to note that, even at this rate, we may not exceed the 74 murders that were recorded in 2001 - especially if the arresting measures delineated below are implemented.

But it behooves us – particularly our political leaders – to provide moderating social and geographical context in this regard. After all, our country is not being besieged by an outbreak of random violence. Instead, these murders are being perpetrated by a few ignorant thugs (primarily against one another) in vain attempts to settle personal vendettas, avenge perceived insults or execute vigilante justice. And, moreover, almost all of them are occurring in areas where, alas, few tourists even care to tread.

So far the majority of the homicides we have been seeing seem to be more conflicts….People are not able to resolve their conflicts….A lot of [the murders] were suspected retaliation going on there and of course when you kill somebody the family is involved. [Chief Supt. Glen Miller, officer-in-charge of The Bahamas Central Detective Unit]

Now consider this for a little context: I recall traveling to Washington, DC for the first time many years ago, when it was reputed to be the “murder capital of the world”. But I was surprised by how safe the city was, until a Capitol Hill staffer assured me that “the murders occur in the other Washington, DC” (i.e. the ward areas where mostly poor blacks reside).

Likewise, given media reports, tourists who visit The Bahamas are bound to be surprised by how safe our islands are. Because this purported crime wave seems to be directly impacting only people who live “in the other Bahamas”.

That said, let me hasten to declare my solidarity with fellow Bahamians who regard the miscreants who are committing these murders as a bona fide menace to our society. And I urge the government to fulfill its pledge to deploy additional police patrols in the affected areas of our country with dispatch.

It should be understood, however, that no cordon of billyclub-wielding (or gun-carrying) policemen can stem the tide of violence that is washing away the right of so many of our people to feel safe in their homes, let alone on our streets. Indeed, a politician throwing more policemen at this social menace is rather like a surgeon putting more band aids on a hemorrhaging wound….

Instead, the only effective way to prevent these crime waves is to deal with the undercurrents (i.e. root causes) that give rise to them. And it’s imperative to appreciate that the functionally illiterate and practically unemployable young men who are committing these crimes did not suddenly graduate into the ranks of unconscionable murderers at the age of 15.

Of course, this is hardly the forum to cite eminent sociologists who have earned distinguished careers by writing about juvenile delinquency and the criminal mind. Therefore, suffice it to know that they all proffer the disintegration of the nuclear family and poor education as the two most salient and reliable predictors of children behaving like those now terrorizing us.

Not that we need sociologists to tell us that increasing rates of teenage pregnancies, households being headed by single mothers, truancy, high school dropouts and the misguided allure of (taking and selling) drugs, inter alia, all contribute to our current woes. After all, it is well-documented that the vast majority of those who commit violent crimes are young boys born to unwed teenage mothers (or to otherwise dysfunctional parents) who were either unwilling or unable to care for, let alone discipline, them.

Instead, what we need are people with the courage to speak truth to power about what is so obviously needed to redress these root causes of our social malaise. Accordingly, I submit the following arresting measures:

• Political, church and community leaders must help us get over our moral and traditional aversion to family planning and sex education.
  
  And let us not pretend that these critical life lessons will ever be taught even in the best of our homes. Because, sadly enough, it is patently clear that religious indoctrination, our puritanical heritage and a healthy dose of moral hypocrisy all militate against most parents performing this duty - even for the sake of their own children...
  
  
• Because parents won’t, teachers must also teach about “the birds and the bees”.
  
  Instead of filling our children’s heads with barely-useful information about the discreet reproductive habits of amoebas, biology teachers should spare a little of their brain cells to absorb pertinent facts of life about the terminal consequences of egg-seeking sperms. And, in this respect, lessons about birth control, including the proper application of condoms, should figure unabashedly.
  
  
• We must expose and zealously prosecute the silent scourge of rape and incest in our society.
  
  Ironically, it speaks volumes that so many of our political and religious leaders give tacit approval of these sexual assaults by their stupefying silence. Indeed, one gets the impression that they would like to see The Bahamas emulate Sodom and Gomorrah in this respect. Nevertheless, teachers should also be tasked to educate students, especially little girls, about fending off and reporting inappropriate touching…by anyone! After all, many of the girls who bred the monsters now menacing us were themselves victims of these unspeakable crimes long before they became promiscuous teens...
  
  
• The right and unfettered access to abortions should be guaranteed without restriction as to reason, as is the case in the US and Canada.
  
  Church leaders who preach against abortions - but say nothing about providing for the welfare of unwanted babies - are an even greater menace to our society than the juvenile delinquents cited above. In fact, we should tune out these moral hypocrites who also use their bully pulpits to condemn family planning and sex education; never mind that such planning and education would render most abortions unnecessary.
  
  
• We need to reclaim and promote the value of vocational job training. (i.e. We must erase the social stigma which suggests that manual labor is only for “at-risk” students and children with learning disabilities. After all, many men earn not only great pride but also good money with skilled manual labor – as any of the foreign artisans our resort developers routinely hire will no doubt attest.)
  
  Besides, how else can students with no chance of, or interest in, acquiring professional skills ever be gainfully employed? In fact, the government should establish a job-placement programme to guarantee that every high school graduate with vocational training is assigned a job (even if it’s only cleaning up our streets). Because, frankly, it is a national shame that a country with so many unemployed young (able-bodied) men is importing so many foreigners to take our manual jobs.
  
  And, incidentally, just as it is with a student who fails to attend school, we should indict as a truant any young adult who refuses to accept a job that is commensurate with his ability. Moreover, before he becomes a menace to (and ward of) society, he should be remanded to reformatory care until he is deemed employable and consents to being gainfully employed – unless, of course, he can provide evidence of other means of sustainable support.
  
  
• We need to appreciate that arts and athletics help children become not only well-rounded students but also more fulfilled and healthy adults.
  
  In fact, participation in after-school activities should be mandatory. And these can include participating in team sports (like football and baseball) or individual sports (like tennis and golf) as well as group arts (like dance and drama) or individual arts (like painting or learning to play an instrument).
  
  I can assert from personal experience that team sports instill discipline, build character and develop social skills immeasurably. But just imagine the fringe benefits to society (and parents) of having kids engaged in such activities instead of loitering in the streets and getting into mischief.

ENOUGH?!

I have no doubt that implementing these measures will eventually extricate us from the undercurrents that give rise to these crime waves.

In the meantime, however, it might be necessary to build more jails than schools to reform the minds, and change the behavior, of young men who are just as inclined to steal a neighbour’s bike as they are to kill him. (Although the irony is not lost on me that more jails are necessary, in part, because so many schools are dysfunctional. Indeed, our schools might be in more need of reform than some young minds are. But I digress….)

Indeed, we should be mindful that, just as the disintegration of a good neighborhood into a ghetto begins with one broken window, the transition of an innocent child into a hardcore criminal begins with one petty crime. The key to prevention in each case, however, is early intervention. And this, of course, means incarceration for every petty crime committed by those who fit the profile of a truant or menace to society.

Of course, it’s not in our enlightened national interest to just lock up these kids and throw away the keys. Because comprehensive prison reform (to make incarceration as rehabilitative as it is punitive by providing everything from vocational training to drug counseling) is as necessary to prevent recidivist crimes as nurturing homes and education are to prevent the commission of crimes in the first place.

[Incidentally, nor should we pretend that homosexual activity is not as rampant in our prisons as they are in some gay bath houses in San Francisco; especially since prisons are breeding grounds for the transmission of HIV/AIDS. After all, it has been well-documented that the increasing incidence of infections amongst heterosexuals in The Bahamas stems, in large measure, from straight men engaging in gay sex while in prison. Unfortunately, many of them get infected and then transmit the virus to their unsuspecting girlfriends and wives after their release. Therefore, we would be well-advised to provide sex education and make condoms readily available to prison inmates.]

And, with that ostensibly sacrilege (though undeniably prophylactic) thought, I hereby pray that God grants our leaders the serenity to accept that political and sanctimonious words will not help us; the courage to implement these measures that most certainly will; and the wisdom to know the difference.