Guest Writer

Pressure on the good eggs

I was given permission to repost this comment as a viewpoint as I think it is indicative of the pressures young Caymanians face from their families, visitors and the global community to be the cause for growth and change among our islands.  We have made the right steps in making a positive difference in our own lives, our families lives and for our community.  We are educated and, instead of remaining abroad like several of our counterparts, we have returned home to a country much-changed. 

We recognise the opportunities given to us and how unique these are and we have been and continue to be up to the task in taking advantage of them.  We give back to our communities and are involved in several organisations aiming to be proactive (many of us NOT in the YUDP or Young Progressives).  I want other Caymanians to contribute to this discussion to prove that we do exist; that we share the same sentiment; and that we are here to better our country as a whole — politics and nationality and racial issues put aside.   I want those who have suggestions on how to deal with mentioned pressures to make them and I want those who aren't necessarily familiar with the islands and our history to ask questions. It is clear that we all need to come together to make the change and it is not going to be as quick and painless as we all would hope.  I am hoping this discussion will make you stop and think before complaining or critisizing in future discussions and comments.  Thank you!

                                                       __________________

I am working with a global company of roughly 60 persons. Aside from myself there are two other Caymanians who are not administrative staff.  Only 6 other Caymanians, in total, work in the office and they are all close to 50 years old and remain admins after 10+ years with the company. I overheard one of my superiors claim that Caymanians are dedicated and loyal to their jobs but have no desire to better themselves, which hurt to hear but, for the most part, is true. Many of them have been offered schooling in order to receive promotions and they have refused. To you I say, "give up the ignorance and the deserving attitude and pick up a book."

To the expats — you're some of my best friends, in and outside of the office, and I am grateful for your contribution to our backward society but, as a young Caymanian who HAS made all of the right decisions, I am offended by some of the comments posted on this website and by some of the arguments fueling discussions 'at the watercooler'.  While there is a reason to develop the stereotype of the Caymanian mentality, those of us trying desperately hard to make changes are still young and figuring out how to deal with the extremely rapid changes our country has faced in the past three decades.  We'll make it there, but such harsh comments only intimidate those of us who are still trying to make it on our own, while cheating the system we've been held down by. Remember this — sometimes we want to escape as well, but are held here by accountability and community, so threatening us of your swift departure does not really send any shock value into the discussion.

Our economy was exploding and self-sustaining for a few short decades, thanks only to outside influence of course, and our foolish government really never had any responsibilty or accountabilty in the past so our community did not realise such a drastic need for change until the global economic problems swung the basket cap on the dirty laundry wide open … and then the crime came.

Believe me, there are Caymanians who are embarrassed by our government, by OUR ignorance and even by some family members.  But isn't this the case for any nation to some extent? We are tiny and are so dependent on each other.  We are also completely dependent on the investments from other nations to keep our economy running and it scares a lot of people to think, 'we need help so badly that the Caymanian population makes up less than half of the nation.' Please understand how it is difficult to some (and remember: they're not as educated or exposed to other societies) who feel like they're losing our country.

Like many countries, we are still developing.  My father, in his 60's, was one of less than 10,000 inhabitants on-island, which proves how young of a nation we are. He was a part of a generation (ONE generation ago) who had to do manual labor, out of necessity not choice.  He went to sea for months at a time with the other Caymanian men, while their women waited for their return.  Our culture is not a joke — it is real and there is nothing we can do to change it, regardless of how tough it may or may not have been and regardless of how uninteresting you find this to be.  Because financial institutions, zero crime rate (not too long ago) and our high standard of living has put us on the map, does not mean we are not vulnerable to the problems that other developing countries face and it does not mean we can rank ourselves among the nations from which most of our residents come from, so please do not let your judgments reflect expectations of anything more. If you want to see change, become a part of it.  We cannot do this alone.

I am a 26 year old Caymanian with an MBA and a CPA and to everyone reading, be patient … the next generation is coming and I promise, there is PROMISE here.

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A failed society

We are in the midst of a major social crisis in this country at the moment – as I write we have had the 5th murder of a young man within eight days in Grand Cayman. First let me sympathize with loved ones and parents, because regardless of what the circumstances are, these young men are still our sons, nephews, cousins, and family and friends will love and miss them. 

Some people take the dim view of these reportedly gang related killings that “ooooh, let them kill themselves – they will soon all be gone.” I cannot share that sentiment unfortunately, because we are losing what should have been productive men and women of our society, Caymanians we should all have been proud of instead of mourning their loss. Also, there is no one in their right mind that could believe that what is going on is good for Cayman in way, shape or form. We are a tourist and financial destination and this is very, very serious to both of these pillars of our economy. Local businesses are hurting because people have started to stay home and hide behind their walls and the stress of living and being afraid is killing people. Need I say more? This is unacceptable – pure and simple.

The police can only do so much, although their role in trying to curtail this violence is critical and they must perform at the highest level and with proper resources. At the end of the day, they are all we have as security. We have no armed forces or any other protection.  The government must support the police and provide these resources and we must ensure our judicial system sends a stern message that these acts are intolerable. We have an overflowing prison, and it’s also time to look carefully at whom we imprison and who we don’t in this country – there are alternatives for lesser crimes and we need to utilize them. With limited space, we need to reserve much of that for the criminal element wehave fostered and nurtured in this country, and this brings me to a very important point that I wish to make in this forum at this time.

I grew up at a time that was peaceful and good in this country (in the 60s & 70s) and when family values meant something and respect was the order of the day.  But it was also a time when those who led this country, because of who they were and the status they and their families held, could get away with just about anything. We were backward and undeveloped, and it was easy to rule and keep the people ignorant and beholding unto to you, to continue to lead them as if you were Moses leading the Israelites to the Promised Land.  

Education ministers who were in charge at the time refused or were unable to develop a system for all the people, through the creation of a full-fledged trade school as an example, or sadly with use of restricted scholarships to the chosen few because of the “elite” status they held, or the relationships with their parents.  Unless we forget, or for those that don’t know, we had a technical unit in JGHS up until 1980, when I left there from 6th Form. This contained Woodworks, Metal Works, Auto Mechanics and Technical Drawing.  This was put there by the pre 1976 administration under the Comprehensive School System.  It was dis-banded for no good reason, or for reasons only known to the Unity Team Administration post 1976. 

These two main factors (lack of scholarship availability and graduating or releasing ill prepared students) resulted in many leaving school without being equipped and ready to take their rightful place in our society.  Back then, of course, everyone got jobs because Cayman was taking off in the 70s and 80s and the bounty was much, but it was always to be crumbs from the table and not to sit at the table, except for the chosen few.

Our people were dis-enfranchised from ownership and expanding their horizons because of these poor education policies. These people went on to become parents (many also ill equipped for such an important role or, because of their economic standing, they were forced to work two jobs and kids were left alone with inadequate supervision and guidance) and their kids are the same ones that are now caught up in this mess. 

When Mr Truman Bodden (Education Minister for 12 of 16 years between 1976 – 1992) was told he had gangs in the schools, he denied their existence and said we only had groups. He was also the recipient of a study at the time that pointed out the juvenile delinquency problem Cayman was starting to have and said that it would lead to criminality at an early age, and he refused to accept this as well, saying the lady who did the report must have been studying Jamaica, and not Cayman.  I wonder how he feels now when he is sitting there writing and criticizing current and recent administrations and pretending he has all the answers to Cayman’s problems, when he can be credited in large part for not arresting the major social problem we have today. 

Many know this and speak of it in whispers, but it’s time we call a spade a spade, and I am not a hypocrite! People like Mr Truman and others of his time have helped to create the mess we find ourselves in, and although he will likely rant that I am wrong and find every reason as to why, in his heart he will know it’s the cold hard truth.  This is said not just to lay blame, but for us to analyze as a people and not ever again make the same mistake or allow it to be made.

Now to the parents out there, your role is the primary one and most important of all.  First and foremost you have to be parents.  Remember you reap what you sow.  You have to know what your children are doing, who they are with and where they are.  It’s OK to say “no”, folks!  The community cannot parent your child, although they can and should assist as the village we are.  You have to set the rules and guidelines – no parent should be saying “I have no control over him or her”.  It simply means you failed in the beginning (early ages) and spoilt them.  If that’s the case then turn them in – report them – or suffer the consequences of their actions. That’s the reality.

Folks, no one is safe when society runs amuck, not even those in authority.  Our citizens deserve to live in peace and our visitors and investors expect no less.  Now we have a mess to clean up and something that has taken 20 years to create because of visionless leaders will unfortunately take another 20 years to fix. There is no quick fix and you can bring in all the security you want, pray all you want, have many meetings, and change laws etc. (all good things), but we have a serious social issue and the chickens have come home to roost.

Some of the things that must be addressed post haste is making sure we get a proper education system in this country.  It must be available to all, must be affordable to all, must be a comprehensive one, where no child falls through the proverbial “crack” anymore.  Each one must be given full attention and given every chance to succeed.  Technical and vocational studies are a must.  We should be producing our own plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters, masons, mechanics, artisans, and the list goes on.  We will always have a need for foreign workers in this country, but it should be after full employment of our own qualified Caymanians.

Special abilities and needs must both be identified from early in a child’s development and taken care of accordingly. One is to push a child along in his naturally gifted direction and the other is to address needs and concerns early and correct them. Our social programs must identify delinquent parenting, and it must be dealt with, and the children put under proper supervision or in proper homes. Too many kids have to look to their peers for guidance and this is a “no, no”.  Many times this type of guidance is the wrong one leading to major problems down the road.

Businesses must also play their role and allow mothers, in particular, more time with their children. Fathers need to step up to the plate and be fathers as well.  Too many fathers are making kids and just moving on to make some more with another partner, boasting at the end of day how many he owns.  How many you are a “dad” to is what’s really important, guys, not how many you made.

Young people need more outlets – today we have many sporting facilities, but we still lack real wholesome family activities. Organized outdoor activities that burn a lot of energy up are what is needed.  For example, sports parks, outdoor theme parks and race parks and others will keep them busy, entertain them and be great energy outlets. This will help to avoid negative distractions. Fitness requires commitment and dedication and that’s why sports are so important. You have to be fit to be good. Also, areas for the community to socialize and inter-act with each other in a wholesome way are very important.  This strengthens communities.

These ideas above are in no way exhaustive but just some of the things we should be looking at. Our churches have to be more pro-active in their approach and leave the sanctuary and take it to the people. The church is important whatever the denomination, as everyone needs a moral compass and they play a big role in its development.

The problem as I see it, and I have always said, is that we have developed our country and forgot its people, except for the lucky ones. We cannot proceed in this manner as the “have nots” will look one day and crave what you and I have. They don’t care that you worked hard, all they know is that they want it and don’t have time to get it, or are not equipped to get it the right way — through hard work and commitment. So their answer is simply to take it from you or me by whatever means, usually through violent acts.

The loss of these five young men should not be in vain. It should be a wake-up call to families, leaders and this country as a whole that we are going about things the wrong way. In our haste to chase the almighty dollar we have forgotten or put aside what made these islands wonderful in the first place — good honest principles, hospitable ways, and a deep and abiding faith in the good Lord and his teachings. It’s not too late to act, but we must act fast as a community, as each day the water gets deeper, and soon many will drown.

May God bless us all and may God bless the Cayman Islands.

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Stop the downward spiral

There is only one word which adequately describes the situation Cayman is in today – FAILURE: by our leaders (elected and official), by some parents; by the government education system; by immigration policies; by our police; by our development policies and plans (none existing); by our religious organizations to deal with the festering social issues; by the business community to adequately invest in local human capital because it was easier to import foreign cheap labour, while building wealth; by all of us for not recognizing that the good ship Cayman was heading for the rocks.

Why the Caymanian people are not mad as hell and demanding the resignations of their entire leadership is unbelievable. In any other democracy there would be demands for those in charge to accept responsibility and step aside, especially now that our dear leader thinks there is a conspiracy in the works against his government; but not in Cayman. Why?

For the past 25 years respective governments have been cajoling, spoon feeding  and using the “left behinds” in our society for votes at election time, when they make them false promises, throw them a victory party and send them back to their holes of hopelessness until the next election, when they are trotted out again. This worked for several cycles, until the internet, social media and other wake-up tools became freely available and now the” left behinds” have figured out the truth and are takingmatters into their own hands.

Some time ago, some politicians stated that there was nothing which could be done to save this generation and that they would have to be written off. Well, that’s exactlywhat we did – but guess what! They didn’t go away and are back reminding us.

Cayman is now doing what it always does in an emergency – reacting, because it does not appear that we have plans to deal with anything – while continuing the very policies that got us into the mess in the first place. We lack the very ability to recognize the present position in order to make corrections.  And forget about anyone admitting they may have made mistakes. How sad!

For Governor Duncan and Commissioner Baines, some advice:

Please visit immediately the families of all the victims; you may learn some things. You have to step down to their levels because they cannot step up to yours. There is none or very little communications with these folks, thus another reason they feel neglected.

Declare a “National Day of mourning” during a work day. Shut this country’s business down for a day (including alcohol sales) to allow our people to focus and realize how serious this situation is and understand that this is what life will become if these issues are not resolved now.

Encourage people to take the day to get out of their comfort zone and visit family, friends and acquaintances they may not have seen in a while. (Call it ‘touch a friend day’.) Cayman needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Take your NSC meetings on the road. Visit the districts and build bridges and listen to the people, not insult them like the premier does at every opportunity. Come prepared to listen not to lecture. Our people feel cut off from our government, therefore no reason to try and assist as they should.

This country is no longer on the edge of the cliff. History will show that September 2011 will be the month that we fell into the abyss  and all indicators point to a continuous downward spiral. There are going to be rougher days ahead, so our people need to prepare themselves accordingly.

During the last election campaign I recall a candidate use the analogy of Cayman’s runaway development being like a moving train. The train was travelling so fast that it left some of the people behind and others kept falling off, yet the conductor (our politicians) wanted more speed. Well, those folks who were left behind simply decided to dig up a piece of the rail track, so when the train came back, it would derail. That derailment now has a name: “MURDER”.  I thought this was a simple and practical analogy, and yet so few voters seem to grasp its relevance at the time.

Some months ago I heard on the radio a discussion about the contractors asking government to fund a skills training program for the unskilled, unemployed in North Side and they were asking for the equivalent of keeping one prisoner in jail for a year – CI$60,000.00; but the government would not support the idea as they claimed they could not afford it. Yet they could afford to give the churches $7 million and build a Hurricane Hilton in the Brac for some $9 million.

But the real reason they did not see fit to support it was political; it was not the UDP’s idea and they will not give anyone else credit for anything. The premier is only capable of seeing issues in one dimension: “politics”.

Perhaps they should reconsider the Brac monster and put that money in a “lock box fund” to help buy food and pay CUC’s billings for the poor to keep this place from turning into total anarchy. Don’t think it can’t happen. One year ago this week Colonel Kaddafi of Libya was addressing the United Nations General Assembly. Today he is hiding in a hole, untold numbers dead and wounded and Libya is in ruins. That’s the power of disenfranchised people when theydecide they have had enough. But unlike Cayman, Libya has oil. We are even short on turtles.

To those who are committing these crimes, I beg of you to stop now. You have made your point loud and clear. Youare killing your friends, perhaps even family members, and while you may think they are your enemies, most of you are too young to have enemies. Instead, put your energy into designing placards and signs expressing your grievances and peacefully demonstrate in the public domain so everyone can know you and help find solutions to your grievances, in order that we can all have a better life going forward. If you don’t you will certainly kill Cayman and we will all loose.

For us to get through this crisis and rebuild the country for the next generation it will require a new vision, new leadership and new policies and plans, which must be fully inclusive of all our people. We must abolish this political party divide that is destroying us; we are simply too small for it to work here.

Career politicians need to be replaced with individuals who have already made their careers on their own abilities. Those were the types of leaders our forefathers were and they worked together for the betterment of all so we could reap the benefits of a 40 year period of unprecedented success.

For those who feel reluctant to stand up and be counted, please remember, “He who has the most, has the most to lose.”

But we have children and God knows we cannot afford to lose any more of them.

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What will a minimum wage achieve?

The idea behind introducing a minimum wage in Cayman is that it will stop the importation of poverty and enable Caymanians who would not otherwise work for low wages to offer themselves for those jobs, leading to lower unemployment among Caymanians.

Before getting into the intricate details of how a minimum wage is implemented (for example dealing with gratuities, the question of per sector versus across the board minimum wage and the timing, etc) legislators owe it us to answer the basic question of whether this approach has any chance of achieving its objective.

The obvious place to start is with the assumption that many of these imported workers will be replaced by Caymanians, who will step up to do the job for the higher wage.  First, we can reasonably assume that a lot of the jobs in question are of the lesser skilled, or in some cases unskilled, type. Secondly, history and an abundance of anecdotal evidence has shown that there is a minority of Caymanians interested in working in these positions. Therefore, the minimum wage will likely have a very limited impact in attracting Caymanians to do those jobs.

Whether we like it or not, people are entitled to have job preferences and if they have a strong aversion towards certain types of jobs, it will be that much more difficult to convince them to do that job for an additional, say, $2.00 per hour. We cannot ignore social and cultural factors when discussing economic issues.

What all this means is that the minimum wage is unlikely to have any positive impact on the employment of Caymanians and instead will likely only achieve the following:
1. It will lead to higher paying wages for many of the existing imported unskilled workers.
2. It will most certainly lead to an increase in the cost of doing business and inflation to consumers due to its impact on those employers who are now forced to pay higher wages.
3. And finally it will benefit the respective foreign countries with millions of dollars in capital inflows due to the additional funds sent back home by the work permit holders.

In addition, there may be very little success in addressing the issue of importation of poverty because many foreign workers will transfer most of their extra wages back to their homeland instead of staying in a nicer apartment, etc. Again these are personal choices that must be respected as long as they cause no harm to others. 

One positive thing that the minimum wage could achieve is to put pressure on so called indentured labour. But the government and the labour department should be able to identify the key types of jobs where such abuse often occurs and apply more enforcement to address it. For example, labour/immigration officials already have the discretion to make the assessment that a work permit should be denied if they are not comfortable with the proposed wages, number of dependents, standard of accommodation and ability of the worker to live at a reasonable standard in the country. Why can’t they simply enhance that existing ability?

We also need to consider the current challenges facing the immigration department when applying the necessary due diligence during the work permit application. For example, some of these very same low wage employees participate in a ‘scheme’ of pretending that they are being paid high wages so they can get the job in the first place (with the intention of moonlighting later to boost their wages in other ways). In other cases employers are indeed abusing the worker by, for example, promising certain wages and benefits and later reneging on those. But these are the types of issues that the immigration and labour officials should be able to address by applying improved enforcement/assessment mechanisms as well as addressing on a case by case basis.

But let’s face it: there is no genuine reason to think that imposing a minimum wage will stop any of these abuses of the system. In fact we could easily end up with a minimum wage law and the same basket of problems we were attempting to address, while creating one or two additional problems in the process.

A minimum wage will certainly make many of us feel that there is some improved social justice by virtue of the country putting in place a minimum standard for our pay. But we must dig deeper and ask ourselves: is a minimum wage the right blanket solution to achieve our objectives? Considering the issues above, for many of us the answer is, probably not.

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Breaking the cycle

The recent events in West Bay have shaken the entire population of these Islands to the core. Everyone is frustrated and angry and this frustration and angerseem to spill over into further hatred being fueled.

Whilst we are all busy pointing fingers at the parents of these gangsters, their families, the teachers who passed them through school despite clear lack of certain abilities, the police, the government, the governor, more kids are being pulled into the vicious cycle of joining a gang and nothing is done to prevent this as everyone just focuses on the here and now. Thinking “long-term” and “big-picture” seems to have been a constant struggle in these Islands.

You may say that some of the recent shooters and victims were not children but clearly those guys weren’t born violent and did not become who they are (or were) overnight. Most likely, they have associated and identified themselves with this kind of gangster lifestyle for quite some time, and perhaps it was even something that they have observed within their own families and in their own backyard.

Unfortunately, we cannot assume that the families of these gangsters actually care about what is going on. Yes, there may be some who had a loving family and all, but it is likely that a lot of those families cannot even help themselves, never mind their offspring or other family members. I think we all can agree that proper upbringing goes a long way, but at the same time a bad childhood does not provide an excuse for someone to live a life of crime. We all have made statements how “children should stop having children”, but those statements alone haven’t really been that effective. So the fact remains that we as a society have to realize and accept that there are some children who never get the care and guidance they need at home and that some of these children will at one stage walk a very thin line between growing up to be successful and responsible members of the community or taking the coward’s way out and joining a gang, leading a criminal petty life and facing potentially a very untimely death. That’s where the cycle needs to be broken.

Positive distractions

The police, schools and government need to compile thorough statistics on the criminals and their background (age, gender, family history, neighborhood, etc.) and develop a profile. Children who fit this “profile” need early intervention and be re-directed towards other activities. They need to be actively recruited for after school programs and receive the motivation and guidance from counselor, teachers, church members etc. I am not very familiar with a lot of the afterschool activities available for children who do not have the means or motivation from their family to join those programs, but I don’t recall ever hearing about any of the churches (despite all the funding they constantly receive) going actively out and recruiting kids to join a basketball team or a literacy course. Handing out a flyer to advise kids of their options to join certain programs is not enough – gangs conduct active recruitment, so we need to actively recruit the kids to go down the right path.

Sending a message

Children who are already noticed causing trouble in high school should undergo a trip to prison, be shown the facilities and experience a couple of minutes “lock-up” in the dark. This may give them a good first impression of what is to come their way. If a child continues to be trouble, they should be taken to visit a morgue, observe a dead body and assist with digging a grave at the grave yard.

Limiting exposure

The other day I drove past the high school and observed that a couple of guys were hanging out outside the schools, not dressed in school uniforms and wearing the typical “gangsta” style with the jeans hanging down and flashing some bling. I was shocked to see that this went on right outside the school and was seemingly accepted as several school employees, faculty members and parents passed without any intervention. Would it not be possible for the police to be there when high school lets out, observing the area and haul off any suspicious looking individuals?

Enforcing the law

The amount of traffic offenses committed by a big percentage of the population is appalling. Children grow up to see their parents speeding, parking in handicapped parking spots, tinting their windows beyond the allowed level with absolutely no consequences to those offenses. Obviously, those children are going to grow up and ignore the laws and regulations in the same manner. I believe it gives a child a long lasting impression when they are riding in the car and the parent is being pulled over for speeding or not having the baby strapped in a car seat. That’s when they learn that the police do have certain authorities, is there to uphold the law and if you break the law there are consequences. Just hearing about it in school is not good enough.

Forcing fathers to step it up

I observed that a lot of recent bloggers have asked for the mothers to do the right thing and hand their sons over to the police. There was no mention of the fathers doing the right thing, so it seems that as a society we have already accepted that a lot of fathers are just not around. Whilst nobody can be forced to “love” a child and provide guidance, at the very minimum parents can be forced to provide financial care for their children. I was shocked when I learned over the last couple of years how little the court orders a father to pay for child maintenance. The court seriously needs to step it up and hold fathers responsible to contribute to the financial care of their children. Child maintenance needs to be deducted by the court from the fathers pay check and paid to the child’s caretaker (mother, grandparents, for example). If a father continuously neglects payment, they need to go to jail. If someone is unemployed, they need to receive assistance for employment, otherwise, they need to do community work (such as pick up garbage along the road side, sort garbage at the dump, sweep the street).

Whilst these suggestions may not be the solution for the current crime wave, I strongly believe that unless we try and interfere from a young age, more and more children will be lead down the path towards a criminal life and our country will slip further away from us.

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Paradigm Shift

Our community needs to have an open discussion about what we are willing to do to end the scourge of crime. It makes no sense to limit our response to escalating crime to the same ineffective measures. No amount of hand wringing by citizens, posturing by politicians and press conferences by senior police figures will produce the information required to secure the conviction of our violent criminals.

Rewards limited to a few thousands of dollars have also failed to secure the information necessary to produce arrests and convictions. Simply throwing money at police so they can buy toys when they don’t have the cooperation of those who can provide the evidence necessary to secure convictions is not the answer. It is time to consider additional legislative measures in order to get the violent criminals off our streets.

In this Viewpoint, a three part option is suggested based on an enhanced “carrot” for those who assist in catching criminals, a new “stick” for those who refuse to assist, and a variation of the Prisoner’s Dilemma to focus the minds of both criminals and those that assist them by refusing to provide information to the authorities.  Some measures may seem unconventional, but the conventional is clearly not working.

The first part of the suggested legislative change is to provide for a more consistent and generous use of rewards for information regarding gun and other violent crime. Ideally the money to fund such rewards would be obtained at least in part from the confiscated property of criminals and those who harbour them. If people knew that being vigilant and inquisitive and reporting information that might relate to gun or other violent crime had a high probability of producing a significant reward, then some people would be more vigilant and more cooperative with the authorities.

The second part of the suggested legislative change is to create a legal obligation which would require people who have information regarding criminals to provide it to the authorities. People who know or have reason to believe that specific people are likely to have committed specific crimes, where illegal guns or stolen property are kept, or how and when criminals get their guns into the country, must be required to report this information to the appropriate authorities. Those people who have information and fail to provide it ought to be treated as participants in the criminals’ activities, or at least as obstructing justice. Persons who lend or rent their vehicles to criminals to assist the criminal in the commission of crimes should have their vehicles confiscated. Those who knowingly shelter criminals in their homes, giving them shelter so that they can continue with their crimes, should have their homes confiscated. 

The objective of the third part of the suggested legislative change is to encourage criminals to turnon each other and those that assist them. We need to double the prison sentences for all gun and other violent crime while at the same time creating a legislated basis for the prosecution service negotiating moderate sentence reductions with criminals willing to assist in securing the conviction of those that they commit crimes with, those that provide them with the weapons they use, those that handle any property they steal, and those who assist them by knowing about their criminal activities but not reporting them.  

We need to change the paradigm. At the moment there is no downside for individuals assisting criminals by refusing to provide the information necessary to prevent, detect and punish crimes. If people who assist violent criminals knew that they could go to prison for doing so, and they also knew that if the criminal was caught that the criminal could turn them in to secure a sentence reduction, and they knew that they could get a significant amount of money for turning the criminal in before the criminal turned them in, then odds are that more information would be provided to the police.

There are many precedents for creating obligations to assist the authorities and the community when specific groups or even the entire community are under threat. Many jurisdictions impose legal obligations to report the suspicion of child abuse and related offences. Obligations to report the suspicion of certain types of illegal activities are also imposed on many professionals from finance industry workers to lawyers to judges to physicians and dentists and nurses. Some jurisdictions also impose general legal obligations to report threats to the community such as might be created by a fire, by way of example. 

There can be no doubt that the epidemic of violent crime that we are experiencing is a threat to our community. Our response should be to require everyone to cooperate in limiting that threat, and to punish those that side with the criminals.  

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