Roots of crime
published: Thursday | May 19, 2005

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THERE ARE three main things that cause crime in Jamaica: corruption, poverty and the lack of justice. Corruption impoverishes a nation and its people and we have seen it in this country for many years now. There have been cost overruns on goverment projects, the latest being the Whitehouse scandal and the NSWMA story. You cannot talk about fighting crime when you have no justice system in place for the poorer class of people.

It is evident that the recent spate of mob killings is caused by this lack of justice for the poor. Now poverty doesn't give anyone the right to kill anyone, but poverty brings a sense of hopelessness and despair. Once a person finds that there is no other way out, he/she will resort to antisocial behaviour as a way of surviving.

I am, etc.,

FABIAN LEWIS

blackapeen@yahoo.com