Since the beginning of this year, the United Kingdom has been gripped with what has now become a serious problem: a string of teen stabbings, which seems to indicate a rise in the recruitment of young people in gangs and a marked callousness in their dealings with rivals.
In London alone 18 children, under the age of 18 that is, have been killed so far for this year and all by knifings. According to reports, girls as young as 11 years old, who live in some of that city’s notorious housing estates are involved. The BBC reports that there is major concern in the government and it has employed all its resources – special police units and welfare officials – to curb this disturbing trend.
In Guyana, there has also been a recent upsurge in crimes committed mostly teenage boys. Some of them are currently before the courts charged with among others things, armed robbery and murder. However, the teen on teen crime evident in the UK has not been seen here, mainly because the local gang/s which recruit the very young really have very little or no rivals and therefore have no need to protect their turf. It is obvious that teenagers and young children in Guyana are being used as lookouts in robbery/murder scenarios or are being inducted by the gang leader/s into committing these crimes.
Dreadful as the local situation is, it does not come close to what has been happening in the UK, or for that matter what has occurred over time in almost every urban area in the developed world. However, this does not mean that we can sit back on our laurels, as we are wont to do at times, and favourably compare ourselves with say London, Los Angeles or Chicago. We would come up smelling roses, but we would still have a problem with child criminals, which could conceivably worsen. In fact, even a cursory glance at the statistics for say the past five years would indicate that there has been a steady increase in the figures.
What makes a child turn to crime? How and why does a child so lose his/her innocence that he/she can rob and kill? Of course, if there was a ready answer, none of the above would have been happening. Observers have posited various theories as to the why, and there has been much debate over whether children turn to crime as a result of being the products of single parent homes, poverty, lack of access to education or poor morals and values in the home, among others. It may be one or two of these theories, a combination of all or some that might have not yet been explored.
Solving this can be left to the social scientists; there is obvious need for a study specific to Guyana, which takes into account our local and unique conditions. What is needed in the meanwhile, is for us as a nation to find ways of stopping or reducing the phenomenon before it grows out of control. This is one instance where the now trite phrase ‘all must get involved’ applies. Of course, the government has its roles, which include employing its welfare division to reach children who may be vulnerable to becoming caught up in crime and ensuring that its security division works to stamp out criminal activity. However, non-governmental organisations and individuals should also be moved to get involved as it is clear that it still takes a village to raise a child.