If there should be a priority for the Government of The Bahamas, it must be solving the crime problem. With alarming statistics, on violent crime in this country, any political, religious or civic leader must think deeply and move resolutely to deal with the high incidence of crime if The Bahamas is to remain a peaceful place and competitive in world tourism.
At this juncture in our development, The Bahamas is slipping in the ratings of important travel agencies in the United States. While crime may not be the only factor resulting in this slippage, the authorities in The Bahamas cannot discount it.
The dark shadow of violence has spread in the communities of New Providence in particular, with the police and civilians involved in street skirmishes, both sides using guns to defend themselves. The ugly scene on Kemp Road a few weeks ago when police tried to arrest a young man, resulting in death, was almost repeated in Bain Town this week when another individual was shot in the thigh.
Why do people behave violently? What is happening in our society? Is it simply in the nature of young men in the inner city to attack people? Why is physical violence increasing in and around our schools and homes? Since violence among humans is such a common occurrence, some social scientists have argued that humanity's aggressive tendencies are inherent or instinctive.
Today we have political leaders calling for the death penalty to be carried out and other forms of brutal punishment against those involved in violent crimes. These responses can never be the answer to the problem.
Since Tourism is our bread an butter industry, a more scientific approach must be adopted in dealing with crime. We must come to grips with the root causes. You cannot have sustained economic growth without law and order.
Some theorists have argued that violence toward other people, toward society, or toward oneself is a form of aggression that results from frustration. An unfulfilled need produces the frustration, and the frustration is vented in aggression. Failure, lack of affection and poverty are suggested as some of the common causes of frustration. This frustration-aggression hypothesis has been described as "the easiest and by far the most popular exploitation of soil violence" – whether its a riot in Kemp Road or Bain Town, robberies or juvenile delinquency.
Related to the frustration-aggression problem is the control theory, according to which a person's ability to restrain or control impulsive behaviour correlates with the existence of relationships with others.
The fact that violence is significantly move prevalent among ex-convicts, alcoholics, drug addicts and others who are out of the mainstream of society, estranged from family and friends, is also cited as evidence for the control theory. It makes sense therefore, for the educational system to introduce courses in our schools on conflict resolution.
It is also suggested – and this is the position of many sociologists – that violence is a learned behaviour, one that is acquired through the process of socialization. Accordingly, since members learn the norms of a particular society and behave in ways that are considered socially desirable, aggressive or violent actions are most likely to occur in a culture or subculture in which violence is accepted or encouraged. Members of such a subculture conform to group norms and peer pressure. This learned violent behaviour can then be used to gain specific goals – "aggression by young people in particular to secure attention, by adults to express dominance strivings, and by groups in competition."
If violence is a consequence of social learning, then any effort of the government to reduce crime, must attack the subculture of violence by organizing joint efforts with the socializing institutions, the home the school and the church.
A review of the alarming statistics of crime justifies the public's demand for society to "do something" about violence crime. However, exactly what should be done is much less clear, as can be seen in the number of guns apparently in circulation, media violence, and how to deal with family violence.
Getting higher bookings in tourism must be priority number two. This winter tourism figures are way down.
The Bahamas can ill-afford a reputation for a high rate of crime in international tourism. In an article in USA Today last Friday, The Bahamas was at the bottom of the top ten hot destinations for 2003.
Cancun, Mexico ranks tops among international booking in a just-released survey of 142 Carlson Wagonlit Travel agents. The seaside resort displaces past perennial favourites London and Paris. Even though American continue to travel closer to home, when they cross international The Bahamas is too far down on the list which shows: (1) Cancun, Mexico, (2) Montego Bay, Jamaica, (3) London, (4) Playa del Carmen, Mexico, (5) Cozumel, Mexico, (7) Paris, (8) Aruba, (9) Nassau, (10) Negril, Jamaica.
Insight, The Bahama Journal
