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. |