A tripartite approach to stemming violence in society
The 2010 Report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development revealed that the Caribbean region has one of the highest rates globally of crime and unemployment among youth. In response to this situation, the CARICOM Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan (SDCPAP), which was jointly developed by CARICOM and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), was launched in 2011 following endorsement of the Plan by CARICOM’s Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) in 2010. With support from UNDP, the CARICOM Secretariat organised several consultations on “Youth Gangs and Violence: partnering for prevention and social development”, to discuss a roll out
strategy and servicing component for the anti-gang programmes. According to the news release following the CARICOM Forum, “the plan is rooted in sound theory and research which indicates that in Canada, the US, Europe and other countries, social interventions have spawned positive results; they are cost- effective, and provide additional social benefits. ‘Researchers now conclude that social interventions can yield positive, measurable benefits within three years, with reductions in crime of 25% to 50% within 10 years.’” (Stabroek News, November 30, 2011).
Securing livelihood and well-being
According to an Antigua Observer newspaper report on October 5, 2011, the Plan is designed to respond to the spiralling violence among Caribbean youth and is described by Ms. Myrna Bernard, the Officer in Charge of the Human and Social Directorate at the CARICOM Secretariat, as “one of the most important regional initiatives for securing the livelihood and well-being of Caribbean peoples, especially our youth, through the eradication and mitigation of violence”. The newspaper report further states that the services and programmes are designed “to reduce involvement in gang life and to equip ‘gang leavers’ with life skills to help them reintegrate into their societies.”
These programmes are made up of various activities, but must respond to the specific needs in each community. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of National Security is reportedly carrying out programmes in 22 violence plagued communities through the Citizens Security Programme, which include: “skills-based training and other training interventions, community signage and beautification, public education campaigns, spelling and football competitions, health care and funding for smaller community based projects – a similar initiative is being implemented in Belize” (CARICOM Forum on November 25, 2011). Similarly in Belize, the St. Kitts Observer newspaper (November 1, 2011) reported that this initiative is viewed as “a non-violent means of using dialogue and social interventions to transforming gangs into a positive community building tool and re-integrating gang members as productive contributing citizens into their communities”, through programmes of sports, music, dance, arts and academics. To date, 90% of gangs in Belize have bought into the initiative, which has resulted in a reduction in the murder and crime rate. The newspaper report further noted that the Commissioner of Police of Belize, Mr. Crispin Jeffries, said that the programme has the “potential to transform the mind-set of gangs and the culture of gang violence in Belize.”
Countering violence
It is important to note that these programmes in Trinidad and Tobago and in Belize all use sports in promoting the reduction of violence among youth. Research has shown that juvenile crime rates are lower in communities where sports-based youth development programmes are available to at-risk youth, since they help to foster strong relationships between individuals. Edwin Moses in his article of November 4, 2015 in the Huffington Post titled The role of Sports in Addressing Youth Violence explained that “these programmes often result in community cohesion, which promotes the acceptance of people from different backgrounds and encourages strong and positive relationships between these individuals.” He went on to emphasise that these programmes are not only helpful with preventing crime, but also with lowering recidivism rates since they help to steer these persons “in the right direction through mentorships and physical activity.”
Belize has gone a step further in implementing their programmes by involving the private sector to counter violence by applying a community-building approach. The programme RESTORE Belize, which is located within the Office of the Prime Minister, was launched in 2010 to target the root causes of crime and violence and to promote “a strategic and comprehensive cross-sector effort involving state institutions, the private sector and civil society”. Matt Budd in his article Belize: Challenges and Contradictions in Gang Policy (April 7, 2015), stated that this programme “engages in human development activities focused on the Southside of Belize City, developing infrastructure including recreational and social facilities for youth as well as rehabilitation facilities for youth offenders.”
Research has shown that juvenile crime rates are lower in communities where sports-based youth development programmes are available to at-risk youth, since they help to foster strong relationships between individuals.
The involvement of the private sector in crime prevention is not new. For instance, Lawrence, Massachusetts in the USA, which had been experiencing a 44 percent increase in violent crimes between 2010 and 2011, and where the majority of the shooting and stabbing was among people below the age of 25, decided to adopt a programme that had only been tested in the United Kingdom in an attempt to lower the incidences of violence among youth. The state of Massachusetts launched the social and innovation financing programme, which would allow it to reach out to the private sector for “up-front capital funding for programmes” that would be reimbursed by the state only if the programme was successful. The non-profit organisation United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) was chosen to introduce its nationally recognised workforce programme to Lawrence, including job training.
Corporate partnerships
UTEC was specifically selected because of its previous successful programmes in reducing high rates of juvenile recidivism in other states. UTEC’s services for one young person cost $10,000 a year, while the annual baseline cost for incarceration for this same youth would cost the state $46,000 annually (excluding costs for education, mental and general health care services). The arrangement is that if the social innovation programme achieves the recidivism rate by an agreed upon percentage, then the state would use the cost savings to pay back investors. This initiative is therefore viewed as an investment, not a grant (Boston Globe, May 27, 2012).
Investments such as these are usually supported by shareholders. At the same time, they offer corporations a chance to build more sustainable societies in countries where they operate since they have the opportunity to strengthen their collaboration with civil society groups in building human capital and creating societies that are more economically stable.