The Story within the Story…Jail time is waste time

Nov 22, 2015 News

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By Leonard Gildarie
A few years ago, a major, worrying story emerged that somehow got lost in the everyday mix of news. Police and law enforcement officials, under pressure to dismantle a major crime gang that was linked to the Lusignan massacre and other crimes that claimed the lives of many, were able to round up a number of teens.

From indications, according to the stories carried, the gang controlled by the now dead wanted man, Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins, consisted mainly of teenagers.
It was a hard pill to swallow. The story got worse. There are indications that the killers within the gang that attacked Lusignan during the morning of January 26th, 2008 (and systematically slaughtered 11 persons, including children), were in some cases no more 14 or 15 years old. Some reportedly carried revolvers and even shotguns.
A few weeks later, on February 17th at Bartica, a mining community up the Essequibo River, a gang brazenly attacked the area in an apparent robbery, shooting up the police station, leaving ranks and business people dead. The tally was 12 persons.
Both cases shocked Guyana to the core.
Dwayne Sancho, who was captured by the security forces on a trail near Ituni a few months later, was only 14 years old. Robin Chung, called ‘Chung Boy’, was a mere 17 when he was killed the same year.
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM
One has got to visit the magistrates’ courts to understand the magnitude of the problem this country is facing. I am not sure what kind of statistics we have available. It seems only the authorities have them, and they are keeping them for God knows what.
I would bet my money that the number of teens involved in crimes and hauled before the courts is by no means a small number.
We are remanding these same teens with hardcore criminals in our jails. In more developed countries, the powers that be have long realized that incarceration is not the end. The persons will have to integrate with society sometime.
These developing countries, just as they have seen the need to legalise marijuana, understand that the jail will have to become more than a place where a person is incarcerated. It will have a part penitentiary, part correctional and part halfway house.
Programmes are developed to teach inmates skills. But that is another story.
In Guyana, currently, it appears that our people have resigned themselves to the crime situation. It will be argued that media seems to be playing it up. The fact is that reports are coming in and cases will be reported on.
The statistics say one thing, but the fear in people’s eyes and voices speak volumes.
The reality is that people are scared to walk alone. Some robberies are not even reported. While police are cracking high profile cases, there are worrisome reports of people being robbed in broad daylight in minibuses by bandits posing as passengers.
I am not sure about some theories that the robberies have intellectual authors behind them with the intention to make the Government look bad. The cases generally appear to be the work of separate gangs.
I worked the courts for a while. The embarrassment for families; the scramble to raise bail and lawyers’ fees are all too harsh of the realities.
Many of the inmates refuse to eat food provided by the jail and opt instead for daily meals brought by families.  I cannot but help wonder what is going through the minds of the families that face the reality of dealing with a loved one in jail.
So it was with a glad heart I read recently about an initiative of attorney-at-law James Bond, through his promotion company, 007 Promotions, to sensitise especially teens.
Bond’s ‘Jail Time is Waste Time Empowerment Tour’ was built around positive messaging in entertainment and seeks through the initiative to connect artistes directly to young people who are not only the major consumers of its entertainment products, but also the major victims and perpetrators of crime. It is simply a good concept.
Bond was expected to host a concert last night with Popcaan, a Jamaican artiste, to headline it.
Bond is armed with statistics of crime and is taking some of Guyana’s role models – singers and others – to talk to teens in areas that most at risk.
We need more James Bonds…and I am not talking about Ian Fleming’s secret agent.
Too often we hear Government and its agencies that deal with social issues like this holding this workshop or that workshop, with an invitation coming hours before for the reporter to cover the minister’s speech.
I have a problem with this slapdash public relations stunt. The message is reaching a few. Nothing changes. I agree with the “training the trainer” concept, but it is not working. We cannot bury our heads in the sand any longer. We need to dig deeper. We need to think outside of the box. We need to enlist help from the experts and see what prevails in other countries. It does not need billions of dollars. It needs creative thinking.
If it takes an artiste and few millions to send the message, then so be it. We waste much more than that on frivolous stuff.
We can stop for a moment and imagine the possibilities if our young generation take the time to soak in some of the positive messages being shared. Would there be less crime?
Maybe, a Michael Jordan or Usain Bolt is somewhere out there, waiting to make Guyana proud. We no longer need child soldiers to deliver unspeakable horrors. We can and should do without that. We are but a small country.
It is time to take it back!

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