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Containing the 'crime wave'

How complex an issue the so-called crime wave is was revealed at a symposium which followed the address at the Information Department auditorium on Monday by Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on the subject, 'Crime, Corruption and National Security'.

While the 'crime wave' itself is a highly complex issue and not amenable to any simplistic analyses, the containment of crime, it was found, necessitates a multi-pronged approach.

This was one of the most valuable insights which the forum threw up.

There is no denying that maintenance of law and order and upholding the Rule of Law scrupulously are central to the task of crime-control.

In this connection, it needs to be pointed out that to the degree to which a polity ensures the independence, dignity and integrity of the judiciary, to the same extent would positive results be seen in its attempts at crime-control.

It could not be stressed enough that the Rule of Law is crucial to this effort and a vibrant and independent judiciary is chiefly instrumental in sustaining this state of affairs.

Our request to our body-politic is to uphold the dignity and integrity of our judicial institutions.

While there is a distinct sense that sexual crime in particular is on the rise, one would need to agree with the Defence Secretary that on this score too, there are no simple answers. For instance, a considerable number of sexual crimes against children, for instance, are committed by their close kith and kin. The administration of law and order in the country by the agencies of the state does not have a huge bearing on this issue, therefore. It has to do more with personal and family morality.

Besides, there is the protective role of parents and elders to be considered. If this role is not being carried out by the necessary quarters, one cannot expect the young to be absolutely safe.

It would have been observed that this factor of negligence of duties by parents and elders played a considerable role in the increase in sexual crimes against the young.

However, if it is conceded that morality too is a factor in this question of crime-perpetration, then, we are confronted with a complex picture as regards these developments, which calls for searching analyses and much more than cursory observation.

Morality has to do with the spiritual development of the people and if this position is held to be valid, crime-containment cannot be discussed in isolation from the religious upbringing of the people.

Thus, the clergy of the country must be drawn into the discussion and it needs to be explored as to how effectively religion is being taught and imparted to both the young and old of this country.

However, one would do well not to be unreasonably critical of the way our religions are being taught and inculcated in the hearts and minds of the people.

Given that we live in times wherein it is possible for almost anyone to access pornographic sites through some forms of the media, it should not be surprising if moral standards are fast on the decline.

The truth is that sexual and other lusts among the impressionable are easily roused now, since it is only a matter of pushing a button.

The clergy should, in view of the above, redouble their efforts to advance the spiritual development of the people. Concurrently, the state must give some thought to the deleterious impact easy access to pornographic sites and other sources of vice, is having on the human consciousness.

We need to protect our impressionable sections from these baneful influences. Hopefully, this subject too would be discussed in public widely.

‘Sovereignty and security - China’s primary foreign policy aims’ - Part II:

How peaceful China-US ties help both countries

The Fifth Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress held a press conference in the Great Hall of the People on March 6, 2012. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi answered questions from Chinese and foreign press on China’s foreign policy and external relations.

Full Story

The Human Dimension

The Colorado shooting - when trouble can come up from nowhere…

No one who was at the theatre where 12 people were gunned down, thought for a moment that within minutes, a mad man would burst in through the door and start spraying the theatre with gun fire.

Full Story

The simple problems that impede Reconciliation

Recent meetings of Divisional Secretariat Reconciliation Committee meetings have confirmed the perception that the main concerns of the people are practical, rather than the political issues that are so constantly raised in Colombo.

Full Story

 

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