Police Public Relations Officer and Chief Prosecutor, Inspector Claude Weekes, is lamenting the fact that the majority of criminal offenses are committed by the youth. According to Weekes, the youth need anger management to address their rage issues.
“In relation to anger management and conflict management and the problems that the youth are getting into we definitely need social intervention, and it’s a multi-agency or multi-dimensional approach with dealing with criminality especially those that are predominantly executed by the young people,” Weekes noted.
He recommended education as an instrumental way of addressing these ills to promote optimism among the youth, and added that the Police Force’s ‘On the Beat’ radio programme is used to disseminate information and educate persons.
Weekes recalled conducting outreach programmes at schools and various other organizations last year.
“We also have the community policing strategy approach to deal with that. That will be brought forward in the New Year where we continue to interface and interact with various community groups. Apart from the policing aspect to foster good public relations to get into the community groups the youth groups. We also have to work collaboratively with the Drug Prevention Unit because we well know that drugs are part of the problem when the young
people consume and abuse drugs,” he stated.
The police official is advising the nation’s youth to put God at the centre of their lives. He emphasized the collaboration of the media, church, school, non-governmental organizations and other entities to combat crime amongst youth.
“In my opinion they’re just wondering about aimlessly. Another thing we can look at is good parental control. While we admit that some parents are doing their best, there are many parents or guardians who are abdicating their responsibilities… if we leave the children to look at everything on the television where violence is being portrayed, when they look at it they will manifest it, it’s only a matter of time … So many of them coming to the Juvenile Court and the court especially, Gloria Augustus is trying her best,” Weekes added.
He believes society should adopt a dedicated solution to curtail the problem, and not just a slap on the wrist.
Meanwhile, most of the cases which came before Magistrate’s Court during the Christmas and New Year’s season were matters related to wounding and grievous bodily harm.
“Most of what we saw was wounding, predominantly by the youth … Apart from [Neil] Karam who died there were no major accidents,” Inspector Weekes told Dominica News Online.
He said there was one grievous bodily harm case over the New Year’s holiday, and a few battery on police matters.
Some persons were also brought before the Roseau Magistrate’s Court for minor drug offenses.
However, Weekes described the holidays as “relatively peaceful,” adding “We had no major crimes or very major criminal activities.”
Edona Jno Baptiste (News Coordinator/Reporter)
The glue I use holds the steel together well enough that I throw my cookie cutters right into the dishwashing machine without any problem.
2010 PEACE TORCH JOURNEY BEGINS!
At a meeting held at the St Joseph Village Council between a number of Concerned Citizens, the Church, the Dominica Social Justice & Peace ommittee Inc. and the Village Council. At the recommendation of our Lady of Song, Ophelia Marie and Micahel Ferro the meeting agreed that “White” will be the offical colour for the 2010 PEACE CONCERT, to be held on Friday 22, January.
One of the high lights of the Peace Concert will be a “PEACE TORCH’. It’s journey will begin in Grand Bay, then it will be brought to the Convent High School, where a live Student Assembly will be held from 8:50 to 9:50 AM and will be carried live on Dominica Broadcasting Srervice. The Torch will then be carried to the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School rally, from there it will be installed at the 2010 Peace Concert, which is carded to begin at 5:30 pm. on January 22, 2010.
The Dminica Social Justice & Peace Committee Inc. is hoping that this will be the launching of a series of PEACE CONCERTS throughtout the Island. The fact that there were 1600 homicides in Jamiaca, and also 550 in Tirnidad and Tobago (with only 29 solved) raise a red light. We in Dominica need to ask are we safer or worst off in Dominica than our neighbours?
Among those who will be remembered at this Peace Concert will be Wayne Thomas Dalrymple (17) who was murder on Carnival Tuesday, February 28, 2006. There is also Wadico Bunch (16) 10/06/85 to 16/04/02. Killed at St Andrew High School.
SOME OF THE POLICE MEN NEED ANGER MANAGEMENT TOO..DONT FORGET TO ADD THEM!!
Anger management starts in the home. where you think all these angry young men learned to be so angry? when you go into those neighborhoods and hear the kind of abusive language parents pelt at their children, where do you think it starts?
Something else we need to add to the equation, that’sGOD. Do not forget about church and teaching them the word of God. That will most difinitely play a great part in there moral characteristic.
Mr Weeks i commend you stating the obvious. Our young people do need some kind of intervention, if they were to become productive men and women. These youth should have some goals and visions in other to stimulate there brains. We also need to have better policing. Our young men and women should be friends of the police, and not be afraid of them. If they are afraid of the police, then it’s fair to assume the obvious; there is a breakdown in communication. There are many small community around Dominica. We are not dealing with over populated communities. So why is it so hard to reach out to the youth. As such small communities, the police should be a part of youth education and not there fears. Do not entrap them, but instead broden there understanding of what it like to be a good COP(CITIZEN ON PATROL). However there is also the family factor. The young people are expose to violence and family conflick, harsh, lax or inconsistent disciplinary practice, etc. I am a firm believer that it all begin at home. As much as Inspector Weeks recommendation is admirable and caring, parents need to take some initiatives. I raise my boys in the United States, which have a very high level of teen violence. As a parent with young black men, i made up my mind that my boys would not be a statistic base on institutional idiolagy. Both parents should get involve in the kids lives, know who there friends are, introduce yourselves to there friends, let them know you are also concern about there ideas, choose what they should watch on tv, commit then to school, get them involve in community and socail activities. JUST BE PART OF THERE LIVES!!!!
Good job Inspector Weeks.
Here is my take- It is always very easy to blame the youth . The Transformation of the young people behavior must begin with the adults . We the adults must take a step back and scrutinize our own behavior. In my own humble and simple minded analysis I find the root of the problem therein is embedded in the culture of disrespect . The basic respect that every human being deserve is duly lacking in Dominica;
We don’t respect each others opinion instead we refer to the person having a difference of opinion as a DAMN A@@@.. I find it very disturbing that our people cannot engage in discussion without insults and getting agitated.
We don’t respect other people’s civil rights; i.e religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation. We push people out of the way without saying excuse me- (The next time you go to a public gathering observe)
People don’t form a line unless they are forced to do so- i.e at the banks, at some supermarkets. Just the courtesy of acknowledging that someone is before you is lacking in Dominica
Making fun of unfortunate situations is very prevalent among Dominicans- that leads to violence
Parent don’t talk to their kids in ways that would foster proper behavior –if we communicate withy our kids in a jungle like manner then the kids will do the same at home and away from home. Aggressive communication leads to confrontation.
The above noted observations may not be the only factors influencing the violent behavior among the young people but I am confident that if we take the said factors into consideration we will begin to notice a sharp decline in violence.
one of mr. weekes’s main recommendations was for the youth to put god at the centre of their lives. but what do we really expect of them when they are constanctly told that the Devil(who by the way is incapable of disbelief because he was created) is the instigator of all the sins of men. we also tell them as i was told from a very early age myself that they are inheritors of some sin mere by virtue of being born(why would we do that to children?) some of us even tell them that disease is a result of sin and not of bacteria, viruses of cancerous tumors, but of sin. i would argue that this is psychological abuse, especially when it is being done to children. the foundation of this crotch is not only our ignorance of nature as d’Holbach said but i think more than anything else is this profound fear of death and this is why we need to teach our children how to die-we need to let them know that death is that eternal, that immutable, that necessary order established by nature and that it is written in the charter of the human constitution that we die and so this idea of leaping over intervening periods of time to arrive at some unforeseen posterity is not only rude and vulgar but foolish. teach them that they need to make the most out of their very brief time here and that in order for them to be happy they need to be virtuous and in order to be virtuous they need to make others happy. i can almost guarantee that it will be for the best for this tiny dominican collective community.
Politicians need anger management too so they can stop telling people to go to hell.
Mr. Weeks, I applaud your efforts and would be happy to volunteer my services to train some of your key providers. Anderson & Anderson is the largest provider of anger management curriculum in the word.
George Anderson
These are excellent ideas. The question remains, how do we implement these ideas given the current economic status of the island? Furthermore, such bold ideas require support from the Police Department, private sector and non-governmental organizations (N.G.Os). A core component of such an idea requires realistic plans for job-creation and job-training for young adults. Studies have shown that people are less likely to be involved in criminal activities if they are gainfully employed.
what about job? we also need jobs, with no available we are force to go on the street. job!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very true, anger mgmt. intrevention should be tailored to include sessions or classes that start at the primary school level.
The gov’t should put thrust and finance towards it, they need to be get involved, after all it will pay off in the end.
Now that’s just great to know law enforcement is begining to think outside the box.
Please follow up Mr. Weeks, put some action behind these words please!