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
    National Paralympic Committee Head makes a Sports-for-all Plug
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    Rudi Daniel, who heads the National Paralympic Committee of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), wants to see a concerted effort to have sports for al...
    Azhino Solomon puts five past Avenues
    Sports
    Azhino Solomon puts five past Avenues
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    A five-goal blitz by national player, Azhino Solomon, helped System Three to an emphatic 8-2 win over Avenues United last Sunday, February 15, 2026 as...
    Sanjay Jiandani is Level Three certified
    Sports
    Sanjay Jiandani is Level Three certified
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    President of the Archery Association of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and National Head Coach, Sanjay Jiandani, is a Level Three World Archery ...
    North Windward Netball Tournament off to a flying start
    Sports
    North Windward Netball Tournament off to a flying start
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    Four matches are down to be contested this weekend as competition in the North Windward Netball Tournament gets going. According to a release from the...
    On Target
    And the debate resurfaces
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    For more than two decades, there have talks, discussions, feasibility studies, consultations, you name it, with the view of erecting an indoor sports ...
    Young Vincentian sailor attains podium finish in Martinique
    Sports
    Young Vincentian sailor attains podium finish in Martinique
    Webmaster 
    February 20, 2026
    Joshua Weinhardt, one of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ most promising young sailors, has added another international podium finish to his growing rés...
    News
    Destroyed Fishing Boat Found
    News
    Destroyed Fishing Boat Found
    Webmaster 
    February 19, 2026
    The remnants of the fishing vessel ‘Zouti’ Creole for tools, is found by a group of Saint Lucian fishermen in the Caribbean Sea, hours after it and it...
    PM Friday used ChatGPT to write his budget speech – Gonsalves
    News
    PM Friday used ChatGPT to write his budget speech – Gonsalves
    Webmaster 
    February 17, 2026
    OPPOSITION LEADER Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday has used ChatGPT to help write his 2026 Budget speech. ChatGPT is describ...
    A Budget without Growth Drivers, says ULP Senator
    News
    A Budget without Growth Drivers, says ULP Senator
    Webmaster 
    February 17, 2026
    OPPOSITION SENATOR Carlos James, has issued a stark warning regarding the new government’s fiscal roadmap, characterising the 2026 Budget as a dizzyin...
    Redemptions Sharpes labourer charged with wounding
    From the Courts, News
    Redemptions Sharpes labourer charged with wounding
    Webmaster 
    February 17, 2026
    A 56-YEAR-OLD labourer of Redemption Sharpes who is charged with the offense of wounding, was granted bail when he appeared in court on Friday, Februa...
    New Administration plans to spread out cancer screening
    News
    New Administration plans to spread out cancer screening
    Webmaster 
    February 17, 2026
    THE GOVERNMENT HAS promised to implement screening and support this year for breast cancer, cervical cancer, as well as prostate and colon cancers. Th...

    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