Social factors in crime perpetration

Sarath MALALASEKERA

The media plays a very important role in shaping the lives of people in this country. Of late, the media have enticed women and children to completely alter their lifestyles. By using women as commodities, the media creates and aligns the community with a new set of false values, said Attorney General, President's Counsel Eva Wanasundera delivering the key note address at the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation (ACPF) annual general meeting held recently.

The Attorney General emphasized that crimes can be prevented if we really know the root causes and the entry points of the person to the criminal world. It is the impact of a child's domestic environment that creates a criminal. It may be true that the literacy rate of prisoners is over 90 percent. But, according to the research carried out in prisons, the majority of criminals have not even completed education up to Grade 8. Children that come from broken families are prone to commit crimes. In addition to the lack of education and social skills they are faced with the problem with social integration. Sometimes they are faced with mental and psychological problems. In most instances, they are subject to sexual or physical harassment.

Text of speech:

It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to come before you due to a variety of reasons. The foremost being that I get a very rare opportunity of paying gratitude to the cream of this country's professionals who have done yeoman service to strengthen and shape the criminal justice system. Your foundation is unique in many aspects. You are blessed with professionals from the judiciary, the official and the unofficial Bar, the Medico-Legal fraternity, Department of Police, Department of Prisons and other agencies of law enforcement. It is not an exaggeration if I were to say that your foundation possesses the most valuable resource persons that serve the criminal justice system. The wealth and experience the professionals attached to your foundation have, cannot be compared with any other organization in this country. Your achievements not only in the academic pursuits but also in the professional fields are great and numerous.

Criminal justice system

I take this opportunity to congratulate your Foundation for the excellent service carried out over the last 18 years since its inception in 1993. It is relevant to reflect the noble ideals for which the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation was established in Japan. The learning of such ideals and its experience would be very helpful in considering as to how the Sri Lankan criminal justice system should be changed. This change is necessary to make it more efficient. It is not a secret that we are at the crossroads in our system. Unless we make well measured changes, the country at large is going to suffer.

In this backdrop, I thought that it is fit to discuss with you a number of issues, so that you could consider and make invaluable contributions to shape criminal justice policies in Sri Lanka. We all accept change is necessary. But we should not change anything merely for the sake of change. It must be done only if it can really impact in a positive way on the lives of people who use the criminal justice. We need to consider the issues in order to make society a danger free place. In this regard I am reminded of a very relevant quotation by Albert Einstein.

“The world is a dangerous place to live-not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it”.

One of the sacred objectives of your foundation is to achieve prosperity without crime. In order to have a society free of crimes we need to seriously consider about policies that would lead to the prevention of crimes. It is no doubt that prevention is better than cure. How can we prevent the occurrence of a crime? The imposition of heavy punishments could deter others in committing crimes.

There is a view that a convicted person may not resort to crimes once they come out of the prisons. In addition, during his stay in prison, he may not be able to commit further crimes. Therefore, a few people suggest that punishment would be the best method of preventing crimes.

Convicted criminals

However, experienced members of the Prisons Department would vouch that a considerable percentage of convicted prisoners resort to re-offending when they come back to the society. The wide publicity given about the convicted criminal should deter others in committing crimes. But crimes continue to occur in society.

On the other hand a few others argue that the prisons have become training ground for a first time offender. Prisons are bound to admit convicted criminals sent by the courts. All ‘social rejects’ ultimately end up in courts and it has become a dumping place for misguided persons in the society. The exposure, a small time criminal gets at the prison may later have a very adverse impact in his life. The prison should act as correctional centres to fine-tune social skills rather than providing opportunity to make contact with experienced criminals.

The poor economic level in the family also is very likely to make them vulnerable at the hands of the rich and the powerful. They could be misled to commit crimes by these persons, with offenses ranging from petty thefts to murder and drug peddling.

Sexual abuse

They are taken before courts either as victims or perpetrators at a very early stage of their lives. The situation is further complicated if the mother of the child has gone abroad seeking employment. In a majority of the instances, wives leave their children at the hands of the husbands. The money that is sent by the wives from abroad is not properly used by the husbands for the welfare of the children. Some husbands continue with the habit of drinking. Further, in cases where the wives have gone abroad on employment, there looms at large, a danger of the children being abused by the husbands. Sometimes children are abused by other relatives, neighbours or known persons in the area.

Neighbourhood has a soothing effect on the mind of a child. Family members and neighbours should be civilized and cultured. People should shower respect and brotherhood to others. These values should be inculcated in the early stage of the childhood. Children fall prey to adults whom they trust most. At least 50 percent of High Courts matters are related to cases of sexual abuse. Having regard to the magnitude of the case load, it might take several years to conclude these cases. In the meantime, new cases are also added to the existing case load.

It might become a huge burden not only for the state but to the victims and the perpetrators as well. The users of courts are the cross section of the society. We hardly see any extensive scientific research being carried out about the nature of the perpetrators and the victims and the causes for crimes. It is high time people who have the professional capacity to conduct such research and arrive at such findings in order to find preventive measures for the future.

According to research, 71 percent of perpetrators of child abuse had been the victims of child abuse during their childhood. There exists a danger that the victims could one day become the perpetrator too. It is a fact that majority of victims are from broken families. If they receive love and care from parents they would very unlikely seek the same from an outsider.

Therefore a great burden lies with the state and the society in intervening at the early stages of the life of a child.

A child should be made to understand the caring and sharing. Parents and teachers should try to inculcate the value of socialization, self esteem and self confidence. When strong social bonds exist people think twice before they indulge in crimes. Having loose social bonds is ideal for a person to convert into a potential perpetrator. Therefore, we have a bounden duty to sensitize the society and make it aware of the importance of having social control on a person if we were to reduce crimes in the country. Your wealth of experience is a strong tool in convincing the society about the background of a criminal and therefore, I encourage you to have an extensive social network at the grassroots level in order to sensitize about the matters I have raised.

Reality television culture

Now I shall refer you to another factor that hampers prevention of crimes. Women are lured to go after fame and money and on some occasions, they run into difficulties. It is pity to see the conduct in some of the so-called ‘star shows’ (reality television series) on media. A new regime of culture has been created over the past few years. False set of values have been planted in the minds of the younger generation. The media exploits the minds of children drastically. I am not for a moment saying that indulging in art and music is a bad thing. But what I try to show is for a young mind, it may be too much to bear the tension and the publicity that is generated around reality television culture.

The conduct of some of the parents in using their children to achieve fame is appalling. Child psychology is such that their focus thereafter may be somewhat different.

They may not be interested in education but to seek, at least a minor role in television programmes. They can easily fall prey to unscrupulous elements in the field. By the time parents realize their folly it is too late to rehabilitate the child. May I quote the words of the Roman philosopher St. Augustine. “The desire for fame tempts even noble minds”.

We shall now consider the impact of teledramas in the lives of people. According to scientists, the best way to attract youngsters is by conducting demonstrations and drawing some pictures. Media companies use this philosophy for the benefit of their commercial enterprise. Research would show that it is the middle class and the lower social classes that follow the television during the peak hours.

The degeneration of the attitude and the creation of a wrong mindset of the younger generation are issues that should be evaluated by policy makers when allowing such programmes. There need to be well considered guidelines for television programme. We must ensure that youngsters should use their mind for creativity and not to be guided by misleading television programmes.

A related point is the emphasis given by certain media on news relating to sexual abuse cases, without any shame or fear.

Detailed sexual acts are highlighted over the media and a section of the public is enjoying the publication of such news. I agree that media have a duty to sensitize the society but they should not sensationalize the sexual abuse cases. Certainly, the approaches of some media institutions are not helpful in the prevention of crimes.

If you look at the media coverage during the last few weeks of certain incidents of rape and murder you will realize the level of sensation. Most English newspapers carry only the news item in a very responsible way. On the other hand headlines of Sinhala and Tamil newspapers publicize such incidents with photographs and great detail.

The electronic media give accounts of the weeping family members as if it is an episode of a teledrama. This might be counterproductive as crimes could get generalized in the minds of the people.

Rather than having a deterrent impact, it might create heroism in the minds of some youngsters. Some may try to experiment the methods of committing crimes. Therefore, intellectual personalities, teachers and adults in society have a great leadership role to play in educating the society of the danger in exposing to the television and media. In this context, it is highly relevant to appreciate the comments of English Historian Henry Thomas Buckle who once said:

"Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it".

This short discussion I made today show that existing law alone is not capable in solving the burning problems. There cannot be a single strategy. Broader awareness is necessary. Varied strategies should be in place in making the system more efficient.

Therefore, you, members of this organization will have a very proactive role to play in guiding the destiny of those who approach the law enforcement agencies in this country.

"Some men never seem to grow old, always active in thought, always ready to adopt new ideals; they are never changeable with egoism, satisfied, yet ever satisfied, settled, yet unsettled, they always enjoy the best of what is and are the first to find the best of what will be".