The drug trade drives crime in a number of ways: through violence tied to trafficking by normalizing illegal behaviour, by diverting criminal justice resources (police, the Courts, prison) from other activities, by provoking property crime related to addiction, by contributing to the widespread availability of firearms and by undermining and corrupting societal institutions.

It is crucial to note that while all our multidimensional efforts to address the root causes of crime and violence (dysfunctional family structures, school drop out, unemployment, inequality of opportunity) must continue and be intensified, the fact of the matter is that organized crime and drug trafficking are largely impervious to prevention approaches.

We must indeed be tough on crime and on the root causes of crime. What is clear is that there is no “magic bullet” or single approach that can address and control crime and violence. We certainly cannot allow desperate politicians to use the crime situation for a political football. Fighting crime is everybody’s business.

In general, policies to reduce crime should continue to focus on improving economic conditions, providing opportunities to young people and improving trust in law enforcement.

The Latin America and Caribbean region boasts the highest homicide rate of men between the ages of 15 – 29 (68.9 per 100,000) in the world, more than three times greater than the global average of 19.4. In Jamaica, that country’s homicide rate for 2005 was considered the highest in the world, with over 70 percent of homicides committed by young men 16 – 30 years. Violence against women is also disproportionately borne by youth in the Caribbean. International evidence suggests that children who witness domestic violence are more likely in the future to engage in delinquent and violent behaviour. Child abuse is also associated with an increased probability of violent behaviours.

Most youths identify parents, entertainers and teachers as role models. However the historical absence of male adults figures in the household for role modeling and mentoring compounds the influences of “negative” role models particularly for boys. Drug dons are an important source of admiration due to their wealth and power.

The title of this editorial ‘Crime and Hypocrisy’ was chosen because the very same people who for years have been giving legal representation and protection to some of the biggest drug barons and their underlings are now presumptuous enough to lecture the police and the authorities about the need for tougher measures to combat violent crime. When the UDP was in government they legislated some of the most draconian laws against gang violence. Areas of the city were cordoned off and young men were picked up at random, especially those with “dreads”, taken to the Militia Hall compound and imprisoned behind barb-wire fence. They were treated like wild animals.

But the cocaine and the guns continued to flow unabated. The drug barons enjoyed impunity and continued to amass riches. The youth of Belize continued to be corrupted and poisoned (mentally and physically). The violence in the streets continued and intensified in a vicious cycle. For Mr. Barrow, the Leader of the Opposition to use the language of ‘mano dura’ may arouse populist sentiment but it is the height of hypocrisy seeing that as a lawyer he did not hesitate to defend very high profile accused drug traffickers. What is more the heavy handed approach by security forces using the wide net sweeping approach (which he advocated) not only resulted in the arrest and detention of many innocent youths, but further antagonized the community against the police.

Combating crime and violence only achieves success when the people are on the side of the law. The police needs the support of the community in this anti-guerrilla-type war against drug traffickers and their hired gunmen.

It would be a monumental error of policy–thinking to believe that the youth are the ‘problem’. Rather they are the products of the individual, family, community and social environment in which they live. The tragedies of wasted young lives that parade before us on television, radio and in the newspapers constitute a stain on the entire Belizean society. The pain and suffering that a mother must endure on losing a son becomes all the more outrageous when that son is the victim of a senseless murder. As Canon Leroy Flowers sermonized at a recent funeral of a former gang leader, the policy of revenge – of an eye for an eye – will soon make us all blind. Enough is enough.

The police are doing their job as best they can. The Laws are in place. The penalties for illegal gun possession are tough. The denial of bail for accused offenders of gun crime and other serious violent offences must be strictly applied. The police need the support of the community if they are to secure a higher conviction rate. Once convicted, the severity of the sentence must fit the crime. And it is the law of the land that the sentence for a heinous murder is dealt by hanging. So let it be.