CEDRIC WILSON, Guest Columnist
AS A young child growing up in the 1960s, I would hear Granny Lena, my grandmother, from time to time talk about a mysterious figure called 'Wonder'.
She spoke about him with a profound sense of respect because she recognised that the despised profession he practised was an indispensable link in the chain of stability.
'Wonder' was a shadowy character and few knew exactly who he was, but when he pulled a leaver those the society found guilty of extreme crimes dangled at the end of a rope. 'Wonder' was the hangman.
The recent private sector-led protest against crime is but one manifestation that there is unprecedented level of desperation among Jamaicans for a return to some semblance of stability.
The question has been asked, against whom was the protest directed? Was it the Government for its inability to control this monster? Or was it against the criminals, for not having any conscience?
Surely, it could not have been the Government because it stated clearly that it was in support of the protest. The object of a protest cannot be a part protest, for here the logic crumbles. For how can the missile be the target?
NO PROTEST
Neither is it conceivable that the private sector by closing its businesses early on a Wednesday afternoon was making the lives of criminals miserable to the extent that it would touch their consciences and as a result put down their guns.
The private sector-led 'protest' as it was called, in reality was no protest. It is a classic example of a potent product that was poorly marketed; a good idea with a bad 'spin'.
As it turned out, the closing of businesses on the afternoon of May 25 and the solemn gathering at Emancipation Park were metaphorically 'a long moment of silence' for the 600 slain up to that point in 2005.
The business community has every reason to be concerned. They know that a high level of crime is costly to the society. Invariably, as crime increases the proportion of the budget allotted to crime fighting expands. This represents an economic loss to the society since funds that could be used for education, health and the building of human capital are diverted into an activity that does not add to output.
Furthermore, violent crimes often lead to injury and economic dislocation within households, which put more pressure on the health system in particular and the society as a whole.
Crime increases production costs to the private sector. With a higher crime rate businesses tend to spend more money on the hiring of guards and the acquisition of high-tech security systems. And we must not forget the protection money paid to hoodlums they all add up.
This translates to higher prices in the society and it makes exports less competitive. In addition, the kind of violence that we experience in our society must in some way affect the psyche of the workforce and impair productivity.
CONSIDERABLE COSTS
A high crime rate is a disincentive to investment both by local entrepreneurs and foreign investors. Even when the economic fundamentals such as a stable exchange rate and low interest rates exist, crime increases the risk of doing business in ways that cannot always be quantified in monetary terms.
Furthermore, in an economy like Jamaica that is so dependent on foreign exchange earnings in the tourism sector, there is a critical point to which crime can climb, after which it will have a significant negative impact on visitor arrivals. When all of these costs are taken into consideration, the price tag is considerable.
There is evidence that suggests that the cleared-up rate is a significant deterrent to crime. Man, being rational, is less inclined to be involved in criminal activities if there is a good chance of being caught and convicted. Except in rare cases, the cost of punishment generally exceeds the benefit.
A prison sentence, huge monetary penalties and the distinct possibility of being stigmatised for the rest of your life are hardly worth it unless the probability of escaping is high. The emphasis must, therefore, be on catching the perpetrators of violence and bringing them to justice.
CONSIDERING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Unlike the physical sciences where experiments can be repeated, in social science this is seldom the case. For the social scientists, "life," as they say, "is his laboratory." Consequently, establishing links between cause and effects, as is the case with capital punishment, is sometimes problematic.
Therefore, where the reliance on data and correlation and experiments fail to yield a clear picture, decision making must be guided by rationalism or pure reason rooted in an understanding of nature.
In settling the issue of the effectiveness of capital punishment, the fundamental question, therefore, is "how many men are there who have killed, yet are not afraid to die?"
If the answer is most, then the hanging of vile men will achieve nothing. If the opposite, however, is true then capital punishment is a deterrent to crime.
With now over 700 people murdered in less than six months, the inability of the private sector to articulate and craft an appropriate description for its sense of outrage against crime can be overlooked.
The deeper point the business leaders are trying to make, however, must not be ignored the situation is grave.
Indeed, my grandmother was no social scientist in the academic sense in which the term is used, but she had a marvellous understanding of the wheels of motion of the society.
Looking on at the violence, and given her mellow wit entwined with her flair for drama, if she were alive she would say "Crime? No Wonder!"
Cedric Wilson is an economist specialising in market regulation. Send feedback to conoswil@hotmail.com
