Dennie Quill, Contributor

I AM not convinced that the crime wave we are experiencing is a factor of our worsening economic situation. In trying to find the reason for this decade of relentless carnage which Jamaicans have lived through, some people have pointed to the desperate circumstances of criminals - poor, misguided and uneducated.

I cannot help returning to my childhood years in rural Jamaica, and I often try to take a snapshot of the way folks eked out a livelihood back in the '60s and '70s. Most were poor; many were dirt poor. It was not unusual to see a family of six squashed into a one-bedroom house and observe the children being neatly turned out in their stiffly starched uniforms as they headed for school. If one were to have had a chat with the mother, one might have learned that all they had had for breakfast was roast plantain. Those children shook off their hunger and soaked in education. Their parents lived in poor circumstances, yet they did not react to their circumstances by taking up their machetes and robbing and killing their wealthy neighbours. Instead, they toiled in their fields, tended their cattle, did whatever they could while constantly urging their children: "Tek up you book". Many of these were uneducated farmers who knew that the only success route for their children was education.

Slew of excuses

But today we hear a slew of excuses for criminal activity. "Dem have them yout' fe feed" or "dem hungry". Drawing on my personal experience and relying on anecdotal evidence, I have rejected the notion that crime and poverty go hand in hand. In a world of shifting cultural sensibilities, the gun culture has taken root in Jamaica. The crime wave has little to do with hunger. A hungry man does not rob an aged, unresisting householder of all her valuables then turn around and pump a bullet into her head or set her ablaze. This is the action of a dog-hearted person.

If word on the street is to be believed, not one dollar from the bounty looted by criminals is ploughed back into a household to provide an education for their children. The money is ploughed back into the household yes, but to acquire the latest bling-bling in preparation for the next session. The money is used to buy the finest model cellphone or other luxuries. The money is used to acquire designer clothing. The money is used to buy the most expensive drinks at a session.

Added to this urge to rob, kill and maim to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, many criminals are pumped up by drugs. I heard one commentator say this drug-induced stupor accounts for the brutal nature of the killings we have witnessed in recent times.

Political scientist James Wilson in his book titled Thinking About Crime, called for a new and more punitive crime policy in America in 1975. He argued that criminals were not deprived have-nots and that poverty was not the cause of crime. According to Wilson, young adults were engaged in crime because it was easier and more profitable than working. He says a rational choice is made to commit a crime based on the relative risk and the reward offered. He submitted that the appropriate response from Government has to be to increase the risk and lower the rewards of criminal activity.

New crime policy needed

This is where law enforcement comes into play. The official response to Jamaica's crime problem has basically been the same for nearly 30 years. There needs to be a revolution in our response to crime fighting. We do not need another squad. We do not need more foreign experts. We need innovative thinking. James focused his response to crime in the United States on the performance of the courts and the type of punishment meted out to criminals.

I am enjoying James' book because I share some of his thoughts. He also argues that governments are ill-equipped to eradicate the root causes of crime. He cited a skewed value system and the absence of nurturing families as some of the causes. This is why he feels the solution lies in deterring and incarcerating criminals. We cannot continue down this path.

And despite all that we have to deal with, I wish for you and yours a merry Christmas.