OPINIPN: Providing The Appropriate Tools To Intercept And Obstruct Vicious Crimes In Small Islands Like Antigua And Barbuda
Criminals do not say, oh my, they are increasing punishment for a crime, it is nearly never thought about by criminals. Just interview any clear and or convicted criminal. They will tell you that did not even know the exact time or punishment they faced prior to committing the crime. Criminals know the seriousness of the crime and that there will be punishment they do not want but they exact amount they do not consider in their analysis on whether to commit the crime vicious or inherently dangerous crimes.
So, what does this tell you? For experts like me, this is telling me that no matter what punishments exist, it will not serve as deterrence to prevent crimes and victimization, especially not from inherently dangerous crimes, to make our society safer. And we should not put most of our energy and time on punishment increase from where it is today. Increasing prison time and fines only has a punishment benefit, it does not make society safer, but it sure provides society with revenge/punishment (sometimes this is appropriate along with the deterrence factor).
Remember at no time in history has a criminals said, “oh my goodness they are increasing punishment for shooting up in the air (from 20 to 25 years, hypothetical), so let me not shoot in the air, let me turn in the gun to the police, and let me not use it to rob or commit murder”. At no time in history has a criminal (one who intends to commit the crime) done this. So, again, focusing on punishment when crime vicious crimes increase in a nation is not the pragmatic, prudent and professional thing to do, especially in a small nation.
The best and most pragmatic is to focus on opportunity reduction. Reducing the opportunities for people to commit crimes is the way to substantially decrease vicious crimes and prevent vicious crimes in every nation, especially, those small islands, including Antigua and Barbuda.
Again, I am calling on the Prime Minister to instruct the Attorney General/Minister of National Security/Minister of Social Transformation to immediately hire within these ministries those Antiguans and Barbudans with advance degrees in SOCIAL SCIENCES that includes criminology, victimology, criminal justice, sociology, psychology, law, anthropology, economics, culture, international affairs, government, computational linguistics, education, Development studies, Demography, Gender Studies, civics etcetera.
This is the first step towards a safer and better community, and that is to put people in position that actually have studied and understand society and behavior so that tactics can be formed based on the actual circumstances of the community/nation. Not people just guessing and throwing out anything hoping something will stick and never does. The country’s national security advisory committee must be made up of people like this. The head of the country’s crime fighting authorities must be made up of these kinds of people. The police chief/commissioner, ONDCP, Immigration, customs, and military should now be selected based on having an advanced education in their field and you can pair that with experience.
So, deterrence is not about increasing punishment at this time. Crime prevention and deterrence will come from my tools that are made to obstruct and intercept criminal and terrorism activities by substantially reducing opportunities to commit crimes and conditioning the society into living harmoniously and peacefully. Thereby reducing crimes not just immediately but for Longterm.
One of my tactics for crime reduction is my flooding policing tactic, along with an Intelligence and National Security Unit (INSU) who will be charged with collecting data/intelligence, analyzing and understand it, and then use this intelligence to protect National security by giving recommendation that includes strategies on how to effectively use the available resources in Antigua and Barbuda to protect life and property.
As law enforcement officers, in a small island, you must be able to pick up patterns, all sorts of patterns related to crime. In terms of frequency, location, repeat offenders, repeat victims, time, etcetera, data should be collected on these because it will provide for a strategic approach on how to use and where to send limited resources strategically to get the biggest results in crime reduction, prevention and deterrence. This will decrease opportunities for criminal activities.
My flooding technique will decrease opportunity. It includes a pattern of having all police and military on duty that night and day, walk the beat and park marked police and military vehicles at strategic areas in communities, and having all these personnel walking in communities all at the same time. I would be done a few times per day and night, and randomly. This is not about sending just one vehicle out there to patrol, this is about, confusing criminals and taking away their opportunities to commit brazen daylight robbery, assault, battery, rape, kidnapping, murder and other heinous crimes. It is no longer clear to criminals that tomorrow (day or night) they have a high degree of certainty that they will not see an officer. Now, it is they have a higher degree of seeing, not one but multiple government personnel day or night.
I would like to see desk and office police, and military members take walks (armed or not armed) while in uniforms around and within the villages and towns of the small islands (this flooding technique can be used as needed, then rested, and then brought back). It should be used at the most populated and busy areas and the most isolated areas in the country.
I also would promptly assign officers to schools, which that officer will teach 30 minutes class of safety to students in secondary and primary school. This is being done for the obvious school safety benefit, and also to give students a voice on how they feel and what they want to see, in terms of policing and safety in their environment. Officers can dress is dress uniform for psychological benefits of the students, and introducing students to another career path, policing and military, is something honorable. It is more honorable to do this than the taxes the PM stated the country should proudly pay the increase (and I am not saying this to knock the taxes increase, I am comparing the benefit of one against the other, because making professional officers more accessible to schools and community will be highly beneficial).
I am also encouraging the country to work with endeavors and people who are tremendously into law, criminology and victimology. Stop delaying the advancement of businesses like these. Yes, I am referring to my business endeavor that would have already been established had my fire-arms license already been approved and not just my temporary firearms permit that has now expired.
Business owners should have some form of easy access to provide information to the police (I remember while in Antigua while officers are sitting and doing nothing or on phone talking to boyfriends and girlfriends people were there, including me waiting to file report and do other things, not one wants that wait and this causes vital information to be lost that could be used in crime prevention).
That suspicious activity should be part of a data bank that will be used as intelligence to form recommendations on how to further eliminate opportunities of criminals. This is a small island, which puts neighbors and communities in a better position than criminals.
There should be a daily prediction of crimes and location using data. Then officers will go to those areas and employ deterrence strategies. We all know we are not psychic, so we would not be accurate all or even most of the time, but such a strategy will force officers to be active, be seen, and eliminate criminal opportunities. But every day, a prediction must be made on the types of crimes and where it is most likely to occur.
Officer will be out and about and no longer sitting on the steps of police headquarters waiting for calls. Officers will be out and about. These should be coordinated nationwide, again, eliminating opportunities from folks who obviously already made up their mind they are committing the crimes, without consideration of what penalties and punishments they will face in the criminal justice system of the United Islands of Antigua and Barbuda.
My solution is not the lazy solution, but a solution based on pragmatic research on crimes, criminals, victims, society and law enforcement. Which will include:
- Using properly educated people in vital roles in this national security field
- Provide society which includes children a voice in this problem
- collect data
- analyze this information and use it
- have officers nationwide (coordinated) at the same time walk the beats, park marked vehicles strategically
- only turn on police lights strategically and not every time you drive the police vehicle like I saw (so a respect/fear can be had for it).
- utilize the dash cameras and other cameras I provided (make them be seen by the public to avoid conflicts and deter crimes)
- Retired high ranking officers (especially those who like to meet at the market) should be utilized as watch and have access to police easily
- While students are in classes assign officers to do walk throughs without contact with students (this can motivate better behavior at the end of school)
- No more quick drive throughs, police vehicles should have about 4 officers in it, while in the neighbors they should have the walkie talkie’s I donated, 3 of the officers when in the village walking for at least 10 minutes, with the officer driving the vehicle no further than 2 minutes’ drive from each officer walking and all having access to radio to call for the other (this should be done at nights and days, randomly but with some frequency).
- Please use the night vision goggles I provided for nighttime police and military crime prevention and detection reconnaissance
- Please assign bicycle riders to communities and officers frequenting the 365 beaches
- trusted citizens in the community can be provided with access to the police to inform the police they are in certain areas so the police can focus on other areas (this could be permitted fire-arms holders or retired police and military)
- share information directly with businesses, especially those frequently targeted or at higher risk from criminals
- It is time to form a properly trained swat team (data shows brazen bank robbery is imminent)
- teach officers that knows nothing to listen and learn, do not feel diminished when being educated by people who are educated in the specific area
- When doing roadblocks and check points, have an unmarked vehicle with lights police lights that I donated hidden way back to chase or follow vehicles that turns around when they see check points
- never compare the safety problems of this country to another in any press briefing, but instead provide the press with tactics that will now be used to eliminate the crime problem
- Also, never say you will discriminate against women because criminals do not respect women, instead provide consequences and enforce them. Also, put female officers with male officers, research shows this substantially decrease that problem. Do not say I will not be hiring female because they are female. That is outright sexist, discriminatory and unconstitutional.
- Please increase the salary and training of officers (urgently)
- Provide officers with more motivation, like a prestigious unit (my INSU unit)
- I also have other strategies on crime reduction and prediction and the government official should promptly contact me
This is just my way of helping the people of the country.
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There is a crime problem and this should be dealt with in a reasonable manner to encourage the economy to flourish.
You are so high!!
@Helping Thanks for trying to help. Perhaps you could market yourself as a consultant and negotiate a short term contract to have discussions with those in charge of the police, prison etc. to give them your suggestions. Or, perhaps you could direct your efforts in the private sector at security firms or as a consultant to businesses or social programmes. You could consider being an invited speaker at training seminars etc. Or, you could just continue to make suggestions and write articles in the media to educate the public. E.g. you could break your suggestions down into individual topics and expand on them.
I do think some types of increased punishment are a deterrent though. Back when murderers were hanged, we didn’t have all this armed robbery. Now murderers get 20ish years – not even life anymore. What is that? Also, does the country have the money to flood the patrols? We do need more patrolling though. I see young men walking around neighborhoods dressed like criminals all the time. So, it can’t be that hard to figure out who the suspects might be. Not trying to encourage profiling, but if you’re not a criminal, why wear the uniform?
I remember walking home from school as a child and there was a crowd by the ARG. I asked my mother what was going on and she said they were hanging somebody. It had a very chilling effect on me. I believe anybody would think twice about even holding a gun if they grew up with that sort of thing in mind. I’m not advocating bringing back hanging, but I think nothing less than life in prison with hard labour would be fair for first degree murder also for armed robbery, which is a reckless activity that willfully endangers human life.
Two final points in favour of increased punishment: Firstly, deterrent or not, if society does not avenge crime adequately then individuals will, and we will end up with the gang culture mentality like some places in the States with each side trying to get revenge all the time and society becomes more dangerous for everyone. Secondly, people who cannot peacefully coexist with everyone else should absolutely be taken out of mainstream society for the good and protection of society, whether or not that will deter other people. When criminals are given short sentences and released, they often just commit the same crime again. So, why let the dangerous ones back out so soon?
@Verla…”end up with the gang culture,” you say?
FYI, the said #Gang Culture which is very prevalent in North America and South America have being instituted, installed, incorporated, indoctrinated; take your pick, into the CULTURE of Antigua, since, the mid 1980’s to the present!
Gaston, Asot, Baldwin, Lester, Cuite ALL had their POSSE! Posse which was the Jamaican style of GANGSTERISM.
At, the same time, the SEED for the GARRISON STYLE POLITICS were planted. Fortunately, this Gsrrison Style Politics did not take root like the politicians expected.
You can research…
#Green_House Posse(Grays_Green)
#White_Shut(Ovals to Ottos)
#Speaks_Possee(Clarehall/Skeritts Pasture)
#Red_Shut(Point and Villa)
These were the STREET THUGS enable, by the WHITE_COLLAR THUGS, #WHO’RE sitting in the purported upper echelon of our society.
If you doubt me, put a cool Million on your doubt, of what I’m saying, and I can supply T_Shirts and other paraphernalia with politicians who still sit in parliament, names on them.
How can we forget such statements, by a former PM, as in, “SHARPEN U CUTLASS, BACK N BELLY.”
We need to be honest with ourselves, get our heads out of the sand and deal with THE ROOT CAUSES OF CRIMINALITY, and they weren’t planted in Our culture recently!
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏿Garrat_Bastard
Vere C. Edwards
@Verla, I want to thank you for responding. And you do make some good points. Your points are valid too.
ONE THOUGHT OR TWO
‘A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.’
‘History is not everything but it is a starting point.
History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT THEY MUST BE (economically, socially, culturally, politically).
This Opinion article is very logical and a required professional presentation.
Now, who will be committed to adopt and implement this ‘plan’ that is most needed to help our psychologically traumatized people (our elders!) in our small-island nation?
Who among us will seriously do it without the TV flash, chest-beating, self-aggrandizing appearances? Who will do the required hard work to solve our cultural problem of criminal activities?
Let us interact with humility, grace, honesty, good intentions!…..Be nice to each other!
Save our Humanity, Save our Youths, Save our Environment, Save our Soil!!!
Be safe and well!
Respect
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