Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Our Readers' Opinions
July 30, 2004

The root causes of crime in society

Please permit me a space in your paper to deal with crime.
I remember as a boy growing up that what our parents gave us, we had to be satisfied with. Now over the last 50 years almost every country in Western Europe and North America has experienced an enormous increase in crime rates. {{more}}Neighbourhoods that once were safe at night have become dangerous during the day; random acts of violence, once almost unknown have become common. The good news is that rates seem to have stabilized in the 1990s; the bad news is that it appears to be largely a demographic issue.
Most perpetrators of crime are young men. In fact you can pick a social ill at random and you will find that the correlation with having no father is clear and direct: depression, suicide, dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy, drug use… To summarize, fatherless children are five times more likely to commit suicide, 32 times more likely to run away, 14 times more likely to commit rape and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. Fatherless children are also, according to one British study, about 33 times more likely to be abused. In 1983, the United States Department of Health and Human Services found that 60 per cent of children are abused by mothers with sole custody of their children. Almost all of the rest come from other members of her entourage, especially boyfriends and second husbands. Under these circumstances you would think that there would be an enormous amount of research under way by the police to understand what is happening. The media should be demanding answers.

Wilbert Scipio

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Sports
    Hyron Shallow tops Masters Cricket awards, as RSVG Police retains title
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    HYRON SHALLOW copped the Most Valuable Player Award in the 2025 edition of the SVG Masters 20/20 competition that ended last Sunday, December 7, at th...
    Sports
    Kai Marks Dasent retains title of Youth Sailor of the Year
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    Kai Marks Dasent was the recipient of the 2025 Sylvester Simmons Foundation Young Sailor of the Year award for the second consecutive year. Marks-Dase...
    On Target
    Give him the benefit of the doubt!
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    DR KISHORE SHALLOW’S decision to stay on as President of Cricket West Indies (CWI) whilst holding the portfolio as Minister of Tourism and Maritime Af...
    Sports
    New winner to be installed in Greiggs Softball Cricket
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    EITHER FAIRBAINE UNITED or RSVG Police will secure the winners’ trophy and cash prize in the 2025 Caesar’s Real Estate Greiggs Nar Fren Dem 20/20 Soft...
    Sports
    RSVG Police wins fourth straight Masters Cricket title
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    RSVG POLICE MADE it four in a row, when their claimed the 2025 SVG Masters 20/20 Cricket Competition, last Sunday, December 7, at the Sion Hill Playin...
    Sports
    WINLOTT Windwards U-15 Super-50 Tournament underway in Grenada
    Webmaster 
    December 12, 2025
    THE WINDWARD ISLANDS Cricket Board (WICB) made another date change to the 2025 WINLOTT Windwards Under-15 Super-50 Tournament, and it is now underway ...
    News
    Christopher Nathan reflects on Caribbean fashion legacy amid cancer battle
    News
    Christopher Nathan reflects on Caribbean fashion legacy amid cancer battle
    Webmaster 
    December 9, 2025
    Creative director of Coco Velvet International Fashion & Model Management, Christopher Nathan, has spent a great deal of his career training and devel...
    National Security Minister says Dr. Gonsalves may not be entitled to state security
    News
    National Security Minister says Dr. Gonsalves may not be entitled to state security
    Webmaster 
    December 9, 2025
    OPPOSITION LEADER and former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Dr. Ralph Gonsalves may not be entitled to a security detail provid...
    Claimant feels vindicated in union’s case against the PSC
    News
    Claimant feels vindicated in union’s case against the PSC
    Webmaster 
    December 9, 2025
    A CLAIMANT in the legal challenge brought by the Public Service Union (PSU), against the appointment of then Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the House of As...
    Taiwan downplays fears of SVG Diplomatic
    News
    Taiwan downplays fears of SVG Diplomatic
    Webmaster 
    December 5, 2025
    TAIWAN HAS PLAYED DOWN concerns that St Vincent and the Grenadines might switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, insisting ties with its Caribbean a...
    St. Lucia stays red: SLP secures 14 of 17 seats, Pierre returns as PM
    News, Regional / World
    St. Lucia stays red: SLP secures 14 of 17 seats, Pierre returns as PM
    Webmaster 
    December 5, 2025
    ST. LUCIA’s political map turned bright red on Monday as the St. Lucia Labour Party secured a commanding re-election victory, clinching 14 of 17 seats...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok