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
    SVG goes crazy for iShowSpeed
    Front Page
    SVG goes crazy for iShowSpeed
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    Globally-renowned online streamer Darren ‘IShowSpeed’ Watkins Jr. has described St Vincent and the Grenadines as the ‘littlest’ island from his Caribb...
    Lawyer urges being  selective in handing over illegal guns to the police
    Front Page
    Lawyer urges being selective in handing over illegal guns to the police
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    People who are willing to hand over an illegal gun to the police have to be careful which police officer they give the firearm to as the possibility e...
    Magistrate  rejects  competency  to stand trial report
    Front Page
    Magistrate rejects competency to stand trial report
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    After resting the matter for a few days before handing down a decision, Chief Magistrate, Collin John, has thrown out a competency to stand trial repo...
    Housing Minster lists  issues impeding their work
    Front Page
    Housing Minster lists issues impeding their work
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The Ministry of Housing is said to have inherited several issues from the former administration that are currently hampering the way it functions. Thi...
    IMF warns NDP government against implementing several  of their campaign initiatives
    News
    IMF warns NDP government against implementing several of their campaign initiatives
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration against implementing several of the initiatives they ca...
    IMF against reduction in VAT
    News
    IMF against reduction in VAT
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the government that there is no room, at this point, to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT). As a matter...
    News
    IMF warns NDP government against implementing several  of their campaign initiatives
    News
    IMF warns NDP government against implementing several of their campaign initiatives
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration against implementing several of the initiatives they ca...
    IMF against reduction in VAT
    News
    IMF against reduction in VAT
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the government that there is no room, at this point, to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT). As a matter...
    News
    Man found with bullets in sandwich fined, given suspended sentence
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    The lawyer representing a man from Byera who had five bullets in a sandwich at the Argyle International Airport (AIA) in 2024, argued vehemently in co...
    News
    NDP gov’t on a clean-up mission, says PM Friday
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday said that his New Democratic Party (NDP) government is not an administration that is going to put money into people’s...
    Hundreds receive $320 000 in bursaries from Taiwan
    News
    Hundreds receive $320 000 in bursaries from Taiwan
    Webmaster 
    April 30, 2026
    More than 500 Taiwanese bursaries were distributed to students across St Vincent and the Grenadines during a presentation ceremony held on Tuesday, Ap...

    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