UN resident co-ordinator, Dr Marcia de Castro, said at a recent UN media conference that T&T was recorded as having the second highest crime rate in the region, after Jamaica.She also noted that the study showed youth delinquency began as early as nine years and that the majority of the population believed that more social intervention was needed in dealing with the issue of crime, such as investment in education, jobs for young people, reducing poverty, and reducing corruption.The study came at a price tag of US$200,000 to tell us what we already know.I dare say youth delinquency begins even earlier than primary school level and, yes, more social intervention is needed. But could we please stop the old talk and treat with the issue in more decisive ways?We all know when corporal punishment in schools was stopped what happened. This, coupled with ineffective policing, widespread corruption and unemployment among unemployable youth, created fertile ground for criminal intent and we are paying the price today. So what do we do?Since it would be meaningless to even consider bringing back corporal punishment in schools, we do however need to apply other meaningful consequences to deal with youth delinquency-and I am not talking just CCTV cameras to observe the delinquent behaviour.When the news broke early this year at a meeting between Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh and Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs about the over 4,000 school dropouts in T&T, there was talk about resuming an intervention initiative started under Assistant Police Commissioner Margaret Sampson-Brown of the Community Policing Unit.
The initiative would cover both primary and secondary schools and would require students who were suspended or who displayed delinquent behaviour to report to a police station in full school uniform accompanied by a parent/s. They would then be exposed to various programmes including leadership skills and the consequences of delinquent behaviour.While it was not mentioned, I can only assume this would have been done in conjunction with school principals after a period of warnings and collaborative interaction with parents. Brown also indicated that plans were in place for police officers to go into schools to determine who were the absent children and conduct follow-ups.Now after six months and a few stabbings and beatings we are still talking cameras and religion in schools, using cadet training to turn youths away from crime. Is this another good idea swept under the carpet? Is it not a good and workable substitute for corporal punishment?It must however be done in collaboration with the Ministries of Social Development (for the intervention of social workers and institutions if required), Youth Affairs (to access youth programmes, lectures etc), Sport (exposure to relevant sporting disciplines and clinics) and of course Education (to treat with learning disabilities and encourage vocational training as necessary).If we are serious about treating with youth delinquency and crime, maybe we could start from the new school term.