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
    Four make it to ‘Big Yard’ in first attempt
    Front Page
    Four make it to ‘Big Yard’ in first attempt
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    CHANIQUE ROGERS- BAILEY and Kemmy Christopher from the Dynamites Calypso tent singing ‘Lift Me Up’ and ‘Hope’ respectively have, on their first attemp...
    New Chief Education Officer shares vision for the sector
    Front Page
    New Chief Education Officer shares vision for the sector
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    NEWLY INSTALLED Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Innovation, Digital Transformation and Information, Marvis ...
    NDP a dictatorship in the making – Dr Gonsalves
    Front Page
    NDP a dictatorship in the making – Dr Gonsalves
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    OPPOSITION LEADER and former Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves believes that the New Democratic Party (NDP) is a “dictatorship in the making,” and sa...
    Police need different approach when dealing with the mentally ill, CKDO president says
    Front Page
    Police need different approach when dealing with the mentally ill, CKDO president says
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    PRESIDENT OF THE Central Kingstown Development Organisation (CKDO), Leroy Rock, is calling for “a more compassionate and coordinated approach” by the ...
    Nelson Bloc dominates Junior Mas 2026
    Front Page
    Nelson Bloc dominates Junior Mas 2026
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    NELSON BLOC MAS Camp was early off the block in VincyMas 2026 taking the bulk of the titles in Junior Mas on Saturday, June 27,2026 at Independence Pa...
    Ministry of Health cautions safe sex as HIV cases increase
    News
    Ministry of Health cautions safe sex as HIV cases increase
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    AN URGENT SAFE sex warning has been issued on the social media platform of the Ministry of Health. In the post, the ministry’s Chief Health Promotion ...
    News
    Ministry of Health cautions safe sex as HIV cases increase
    News
    Ministry of Health cautions safe sex as HIV cases increase
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    AN URGENT SAFE sex warning has been issued on the social media platform of the Ministry of Health. In the post, the ministry’s Chief Health Promotion ...
    Chanique coming in strong from the cold
    News
    Chanique coming in strong from the cold
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    TO MANY, the name Chanique Rogers-Bailey may be new, especially in the calypso arena, a virtual newcomer to the calypso stage. Bailey, who sings with ...
    ECCB launching division for consumer protection
    News
    ECCB launching division for consumer protection
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    CUSTOMERS OF BANKING institutions that may have an issue will soon have an entity to take their complaint to with the coming on stream in September, 2...
    Central Kingstown Organisation to offer Pastry making course
    News
    Central Kingstown Organisation to offer Pastry making course
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    MORE THAN 20 residents from the Central Kingstown community are expected to benefit from a pastry making course being organised by the Central Kingsto...
    Port agreement with GPH will have termination clauses, says Tourism Minister
    News
    Port agreement with GPH will have termination clauses, says Tourism Minister
    Webmaster 
    June 30, 2026
    THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and Global Ports Holdings (GPH), will have a termination clause in the eve...

    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