CRIME 10125/06/22
I'm not an expert on crime, I am not a criminal. There are those who have formally studied the issue and done researches to inform of their science. But common among politicians, crime is a repetitious target for populous opportunism.
Among the best people on the know are the police; the neighbourhood and victims. Victims are usually opportunistic targets for a number of reasons including the rich. And perhaps anger and fear motivate them for harsh punishments such as throwing away the key and arming the police. The neighbourhood may have class distinctions of 'them and us'.
Let's say the general cause of crime is addiction. When addicts cannot meet the need, they are driven to crime to pay for the substance of their desires. This trend has motivated gang leaders to seize the opportunity for making fast money.
The operation involves smuggling drugs usually meth is sold to ordinary folks on the street. And some of these folks become addicts and mentally ill. Therefore, gangs have established an underground market for their capital operation.
And gangs have armed themselves to maintain the boundaries of their market. Really, it's an underground military operation.
Gangs have not only imposed fear among innocent civilians, but also have links to the rate of crime. And these crimes are committed to satisfy desires and provide demand.
Is it possible therefore that the rate of crime is a reflection of the underground market boom or bust? The success of the drug squad team may also weigh into this fluctuation. Clearly, a military operation also requires the response of a special military squad, not normal domestic police.
And so it follows that the people who end up in prison are not only addicts, but are also enduring a form of mental illness. They have also managed to take up court administration time.
I would say the major cause of crime is addiction escalated to demand and supply accumulating the social consequences on society.
Other types of crime involve political struggles that may link to politics but normally associate with relationships. Political crimes are usually characterised by extreme violence and may target symbolic images of representations such as the attack of a Christian church on the feast of Pentecostal Day. It bears the signature of terrorism.
Your honest criminal is usually a poor homeless person who is hungry and doesn't have any money. He/she doesn't do much damage except sometimes scary.
Depending on the type of crime, it is often link to the social circumstances of the day. Political policies in favour of one group may offset retaliation from another. The state of the economy may benefit one group more than others, could offset rebellious or retaliation from those who are missing out.
Among the poor, folks could be living from day to day on a tight budget. When bulk sums of money are transferred to some well-off sector, folks in Poverty kick up a fuss and stuff happens. The opposite is true of right-wing nationalist parties, they protest too much social spending and more stuff happen.
Ever since capitalism under conservative ideology had spent tax payer money building prisons and looking after prisoners. All the time they do this, prisoners are expanding their networks and knowledge of crime. They are not progressing for the better, they are in fact getting stupider. That's not turning their lives around and becoming good citizens. No they can't do that by being punished and locked up in dark rooms.
When the social democratic government came into office, prison lock up was transformed into a half way community education for learning work skills and rehabilitation from addiction. That was short lived when a corporate business government changed this back to a penal institution and community rehabilitation programmes were run by prison guards. I'm not sure if guards were armed in the classroom.
Anyway, it made a significant impact in the lowest success rate that education may not work when corporal punishments was harsh let alone run by punishers or guards. However, the idea has hopefully come home that harsh punishment of prisoners doesn't work and can only make them stupider.
A group disadvantaged due to social events natural or caused such as the Pandemic may also increase the rate of burglary crimes. Over the horizon, the ills of the Pandemic mix with grumbles of inflation are certain to reach climax in a possible Recession. And that should draw a red line.
As they say, there is no silver bullet to arrest harm on all criminals once and for all. The general cause is lack of education and understanding of issues. Therefore, education is a solution. A good income covering living costs is also a factor in prevention.
But law makers have targeted substances of desires either by decriminalisation and regulation to avail on the market. They have talked about marijuana but not yet on other stronger stuff. It's working towards disestablishing the underground market, the same time rehab is available.
It was understood that during economic downturns, unemployment among the young gave them the time to be creative. But the frustrations of low income and shame of inability to support a family led to alcohol and drugs until a caregiver is hooked. And there, children are subjected to neglect and abuse. I must say that not much of this going on now as people learned and had second chances to turn their lives around.
And this recovery cannot be achieved by harsh punishments. Having said that, it is the whanau and the community who are experts in dealing with crime. You know what I mean!