Chevannes
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
THERE WAS a time not too long ago when the man was the backbone of Jamaican society, but recent police data show that thousands of this country's young men are drifting into a life of crime. One leading sociologist says this is a worrying trend.
According to police statistics, of the 921 men that were murdered in 2002, 158 were between the ages of 20 and 24. In 2003, that demographic accounted for 140 of the 888 men that were killed.
Figures compiled by the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica issued by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, show that almost 80 per cent of murders committed in Jamaica are by males aged between 16 and 35. Professor Barry Chevannes, retired Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, is not surprised at the figures.
DYNAMIC
"That age group is the perpetrator of most of the country's crimes. We have to be concerned because that's the time when young men can be at their most dynamic," he told the Sunday Gleaner last week.
"We have to invest in them and protect our country's reputation," he added. "I'd love to see a return to civility when a man's first form of defence is not attack."
Professor Chevannes is a member of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and Partners For Peace, groups that promote harmony in troubled communities. In his 2001 book, Learning To Be a Man, he examined the development of young males in inner-city Jamaica, where many of the country's homicides take place.
He says while unemployment "creates conditions for disorder", it is not the primary reason for youth getting involved in criminal activity. "For that we have to look at the peer group... the crew, the gangs, which is the main socialising agent for many youth," he explained.
"There is a bonding in these groups that is extremely deep, sometimes deeper than even kinship. This bond plays a big role in (shooting) reprisals...you know, 'if I dis you my brethren should react'."
An effective education system, Professor Chevannes believes, can help to prevent anti-social behaviour. "Don't teach just maths and English, start instilling values from early, and build a sense of community," he said. Delinquency among young males has not gone unnoticed by institutions like the Government-run National Youth Service (NYS) which targets troubled youth in their late teens and early 20s then attempts to reform them.
DISILLUSIONED AND ANGRY
"A lot of them who come here are disillusioned and angry at society, they blame the system. What we say to them is, 'you didn't do well the first time at school, now you get a second chance'," said Reverend Adinair Jones, executive director at the NYS. He says students are placed in re-socialising programmes to help build self-esteem before being sent to private or public sector companies for job experience.
Rev. Jones reports that his institution's track record is a strong one. "Many of these young men come here pretty much un-employable, I am glad to say that 61 per cent of them go on to full employment or tertiary education," he said.
He said that the NYS is looking to take their training agenda further by proposing mandatory youth service in Jamaica. He told The Sunday Gleaner that the NYS proposal is in its drafting stage and will be presented to stakeholders. Although Professor Chevannes remains concerned at the high level of crime among Jamaican youth, he notes that there are positives including the emergence of young entrepreneurs.
