00:00Dr. David Mohamed, who holds a PhD in sociology, tells the TV6 Morning Edition that a state of emergency on
00:07its own is not a long-term solution to crime.
00:11He says deeper social issues must be addressed, pointing in particular to what he describes as a growing job crisis
00:19in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:21He adds that job availability and small business development play a major role in shaping opportunity and stability.
00:30In the last regime, we had a government that, in my view, killed the spirit of broad-based entrepreneurship on
00:44the small and micro enterprise level.
00:46There have been these programs where, for example, we become economically reliant on being employed in temporary jobs.
01:00He tells us the current government also contributed to the employment wars.
01:06Dr. Mohamed believes there is a consequential underestimation of the devastating impact of the mass job losses that took place
01:15with the closing down of the CPEP and URP programs.
01:18Even though you don't want to envision for a society that kind of temporary employment, there was, to me, some
01:28measure of insensitivity to the fact that there were so many people in our society who relied on those jobs,
01:35some of whom might be on the borderline of making decisions to actually contemplate criminal behaviors.
01:43According to Dr. Mohamed, personal well-being is influenced not only by access to food and shelter, but also by
01:52self-esteem and a sense of dignity and security.
01:55He notes, increasing social emphasis on material status can affect how individuals see themselves.
02:02And in the absence of stable employment, these pressures can become contributing factors to criminal behavior.
02:09He also notes that Trinidad and Tobago has recorded a significant rise in crime over the past several years.
02:18But Trinidad and Tobago is the only country in the world that has had a 400 percent increase in crime
02:26over the last two and a half decades.
02:30All other countries that have these high crime rates have had high crime rates.
02:36Trinidad and Tobago did not.
02:38Dr. Mohamed also points to the need for meaningful prison reform and stronger rehabilitation systems,
02:46noting that the impact of incarceration extends beyond those behind bars to the families and communities connected to them.
02:55He says addressing issues such as institutionalization and prisonization will be essential if the country is to reduce repeat offending
03:05and strengthen long-term crime prevention.
03:08Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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