The government will pump up financial resources to tackle the social root of what drives crime in the country’s children, says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
The prime minister said at the opening of the St Clair police station yesterday that something was happening in our schools where some children are “angels” in the primary school system and then “demons” when they enter high school.
This problem, he said, stems from poor parenting, and he urged parents and guardians to reflect on whether they are exercising their responsibility to care for their children.
The Prime Minister noted that next month is seven years since this country was under his leadership, as he noted that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on security and the justice system.
“The government is going to direct more resources to this issue at this time because it is needed. “Something is happening between our nine- and ten-year-olds and our 17-year-olds that is causing our society to be what it is,” he said.
“We need to send resources now to find out what’s going on in this vacuum between ten-year-olds and 17-year-olds, and start producing a better citizen in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said, adding that if left untreated , “we will be on this merry-go-round until we lose our balance and deviate in pain and destruction.”
Rowley said he regularly visits primary schools and interacts with the pupils, who are all under 12 years old and like “angels”.
“By the time they are 15 years old, there is a pattern of behavior in the secondary schools that is becoming increasingly unacceptable,” he said.
Poor parenting
Rowley said the cost of a secondary school used to be $ 10 million apiece and is now $ 240 million, but he noted that teachers’ salaries are significantly higher today.
“By the age of 15, we have a group of the population that is starting to show a penchant for violence that is unacceptable. By the time they are 17 years old and they come out of school, they are no longer under the school’s disciplinary umbrella, they are now in society, some of them work, some of them lime, some of them practice to dealing with firearms and unleashing a whole wave of violence, ”he said.
He continued, “And you ask yourself what would have happened between the primary school angels and the demons that confront the police from time to time … something happening inside that needs to be found needs to be addressed, otherwise this cycle is will only get further and further away from us and it will only get worse, ”he said.
He said he is open to advice, but he is “not completely without brain cells” so he can now come to a conclusion before being informed that a significant part of the trouble in this country is poor parenting.
The prime minister urged parents and guardians to quietly consider whether they are fulfilling their responsibility to the family and nation as they grow older.
“If the answer is no, you are not doing what you should be doing. I ask you here today to accept that responsibility, ”he said.
He also called on parents to talk to their children and discourage them from living a life of crime if they are aware that they are involved in criminal activities.
Build trust in the police
Rowley also had a message for police.
“We will not be able to keep ourselves out of jail or shoot ourselves out of this or kill ourselves out of this, because these are not actions that are for correction or for guidance. That’s when you get to the end of the line, ”he said.
Rowley said it was not enough to come every two months and “cry and moan” about someone being killed.
He said the country needs to get to the root of this problem, and it starts with the schools and an appreciation for respecting other people’s space and rights.
He said it starts with accepting responsibility for your own behavior and not making excuses for people whose behavior is destructive and this also applies to people in the Police Service.
He remarked that he had repeatedly told the police, Coast Guard and Army “if there are people who have found themselves in the ranks of the uniformed officers and they do not measure up to the standard set by the population. , take them out! Because if you do not get them out, it is quite possible that they will end up as commissioner of police. “
The prime minister said there is an extra responsibility to those who wear a uniform so that when problems arise you can have the confidence of the people that the circumstances should justify it.
“Today that trust is not there. You have to build it. It will not be built if the population thinks that there are people in the Police Service who should not be there because they are dishonest, they are lazy, they are thoughtless, and all they will do is just enjoy the salary, enjoy the rank and possibly abuse, ”he said.
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