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
      • Privacy Policy
      • 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
      • Privacy Policy
      • 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
    Elreka Gaymes is Miss SVG 2026
    Front Page
    Elreka Gaymes is Miss SVG 2026
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Miss St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) 2026 Elreka Gaymes is expected to reign for a year and will be striving to show strength, kindness, resilienc...
    Solid waste manager  warns against illegal dumping of waste
    Front Page
    Solid waste manager warns against illegal dumping of waste
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Solid Waste Manager, Tahj Marksman, is reminding the public of the hefty penalties that can be imposed on persons caught illegally dumping waste, as h...
    Weekend of tragedy strikes  St Vincent and the Grenadines
    Front Page
    Weekend of tragedy strikes St Vincent and the Grenadines
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Last weekend, May 29 to 31, 2026, was a tumultuous one in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) with four unnatural deaths, including the 17th local hom...
    Vermont man charged for murder, remanded
    Front Page
    Vermont man charged for murder, remanded
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    A Vermont man was remanded in custody after he was charged with murdering a Fitz Hughes man by stabbing him to death. Kemarl Small appeared at the Ser...
    Alleged attacker of Nadia Slater and her aunt granted bail
    Front Page
    Alleged attacker of Nadia Slater and her aunt granted bail
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    The Clare Valley man who is alleged to have attempted to murder the aunt of Acting Director of the Agency for Public Information(API) Nadia Slater, ha...
    Fisherman’s Day winners receive their prizes
    News
    Fisherman’s Day winners receive their prizes
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Winners in this year’s Fisherman’s Day competition received their prizes at a special ceremony on Thursday, May 29, 2026, four days after the big fish...
    News
    Fisherman’s Day winners receive their prizes
    News
    Fisherman’s Day winners receive their prizes
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Winners in this year’s Fisherman’s Day competition received their prizes at a special ceremony on Thursday, May 29, 2026, four days after the big fish...
    Sea resources are not limitless warns Minister
    News
    Sea resources are not limitless warns Minister
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Statistics relating to the fisheries sector demonstrate evidence of recovery and determination by fisherfolk, but there is also warning signs that req...
    Community College student gains hands-on internship experience at NPBRA
    News
    Community College student gains hands-on internship experience at NPBRA
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Nyehma Jack, a year two student at the Technical Division of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC), has been gaining hands-on ex...
    VINLEC cooperating with electrocution investigation
    News
    VINLEC cooperating with electrocution investigation
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    The St Vincent Electricity Services (VINLEC), is undertaking an investigation in the wake of the death of Clias Dean in Bequia on Sunday, May 31, 2026...
    Kenton Chance presents Letter of Credence as SVG’s Ambassador to Taiwan
    News
    Kenton Chance presents Letter of Credence as SVG’s Ambassador to Taiwan
    Webmaster 
    June 2, 2026
    Journalist Kenton Chance, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 presented his Letter of Credence as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of St Vincent...

    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