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by Afreeha Jawad

The prevailing collective despondency over the increasing crime rate is evident. Sad to say, we only see the criminal and perhaps our ignorance of what gives rise to crime propagates its sources of origin. This is where a study of Sociology is important in schools as well besides its inclusion in the university curriculum - to learn of society as a whole, what's gone wrong and where, why people behave in a certain way and why they don't, people's inner motives and a whole host of information - the lack of which compels a vast majority into accepting the system as bona-fide.

Professor S. T. Hettige

Colombo University's Professor S. T. Hettige very clearly outlined the forces of crime - first as systemic and second as individual.

Elitism sows the seeds of discontent, poverty, inequality, oppression, deprivation, unemployment - all part and parcel of the system that creates marginalisation followed by frustration, erupting in crime.

The "neatly arranged" system's injustices thus result in individual crime such as pocket-picking, looting, arson, drug addiction and the like. The intense polarization of elitism and its power base reminds this writer of a social sphere that sandwiches civil society that bears the brunt of crime.

A Police patrol: up against systemic evils

Crime operative at individual level horizontally has of recent times struck vertical linkage with elite groups who themselves have developed criminal minds - whose activities are referred to by sociologists as white collar crime.

Their activities include drug peddling, prostitution, money printing, acts of bribery, commissions, trafficking in women, child sex, pre and post election violence - to name a few.

To reiterate this writer's belief on the importance of studying Sociology, - this alone will help us detect the white collar criminal for whom quite unwittingly there is an abundance of social respect.

Many of them live in multi-storeyed buildings, move about in sleek limousines, clad in lounge suit, speak English fluently or at least a smattering, are 'well mannered' and have perhaps attended classes in social graces. The typical average Sri Lankan middle class reverence for such groups are, "oh! he is a decent man" or with raised eyebrows proclaim, "You know, he is doing a big job somewhere", which, sort of fosters the 'Thanathuru pissu' or status madness this writer is reminded of - a wave currently on in work places.

So, the problem of criminality itself arises out of economic crime, political crime, sexual crime and other anti-social acts that keep adding to our ever-increasing crime rate. One also finds mechanisms and institutions set up at public expense in dealing with crime. How far are they effective? The police arrest the 'criminal', produce him before courts and imprison him if found guilty. A whole range of judicial institutions exists among which are the Fraud Bureau and Bribery Commission before whom criminals are produced - 'believably' places of taking to task white collar criminals.

The accompanying diagram shows the dynamics within causation, criminality and criminal justice. For example when certain systemic forces are actively engaged in criminal activities, naturally these forces have to be dealt with.

Arresting the individual criminal is a futile attempt in reducing crime when the root of all crime lies embedded elsewhere. Systemic forces therefore have got to be contained because their contribution to criminality is far greater than individual contribution to crime.

"The question now arises of the media's role in arresting crime. Is media a part of that systemic force in creating and fostering crime," asked Professor Hettige which question throws open to many interpretations - some being media integrity and lack of sociological knowledge among media personnel.

There was indeed much irony listening to him in his analysis of crime and its origins. A faulty system - the precursor itself to crime unhesitantly keeps pointing the accusing finger at the 'criminal' - a product of the system itself.

When the system has no legitimacy, individual tendency is to get away from the law or take the law into their hands if not ignore the law itself.

"Those that flout the law are in the system and then how do we expect the ordinary citizen to comply? You only got to step out of your home to see lawlessness," he said quite indignantly.

The upper echelons of power - the patrons, regardless of political ideology influence State mechanism into hushing up their clients' frauds.

The State's repressive apparatus of police among several other mechanisms are approached and bought over preventing them from task performance. "Besides, if law courts do not dispose cases efficiently and speedily and above all the legislators who are themselves law makers flout the law, do you expect people to obey it? No wonder then the rising crime rate!"

Understandably, Professor Hettige's lucid analysis is altogether conclusive. It certainly enabled this writer to conclude from where the malady of crime originates.

The economic elite - so very aggressive in profit orientation at the expense of an ill paid working class saddled with numerous problems of transport, health and what not, the religious elite that no longer emulate the sublime ways of their different mentors, the political elite, that switches off people's aspirations, the bureaucratic elite, conscious only of currying favour with their political supremos for self-glorification, all in all the social elite that leads ostentatious lifestyles quite unmindful of marginalized deprivation certainly are not free of the guilt of criminality which in turn breeds the 'criminal'.

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