Shamfa Cudjoe: Crime requires a community approach

Sports and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe said crime needs to be dealt with at a community level, and requires an all-of-country approach. She said people have become too focused on themselves and their families only while not building their communities.

Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the MIC Institute of Technology (MIC-IT) and the Export Centres Company Ltd (ECCL) on Wednesday at the MIC-IT head office in Trincity for the continuation of a hydroponics training programme, Cudjoe said crime changes the way people think and live their lives.

“We have to constantly work on it not just in government but in our homes as we raise our young children, boys and girls, and we see what’s happening in the school system, not only here in TT but throughout the region. We at the ministry feel keeping a safe and secure community is part of community development. And so we have programmes like MpowerTT where we try to empower our men to make better choices, help to educate them, help them identify who they are, what they stand for, and different opportunities that they could transform their lives.”

She said technology has also made it easier for people to become involved in crime.

“We all have to remain on the job as parents, as teachers, as educators, as leaders, as government, it’s something we all have to get involved in and continue to do our work and move from strength to strength in creating the communities and country we want to see.”

Cudjoe said there are things she would do in Tobago that she would not do in Trinidad, such as running in the early mornings or late evenings. She said the community spirit in Tobago means that everybody knows and looks out for everybody.

“A lot of that responsibility is on your community in that small system, of seeing your neighbour as a member of your family, as seeing other people in your community as somebody you should look out for. If you see something strange, say something. I think, as a people, we have become so focused on ourselves, sometimes we forget to look out for each other with care.

“Sometimes you see your neighbour’s child going astray and the parents and communities don’t see the need to check up on them. You can’t discipline your neighbour’s child the way you used to back then. The way we socialise has just changed and everybody has to play their role and be responsible once again.

"It’s for all of us, as you raise children, what you entertain and don’t entertain. It all has a role to play. Whether you choose to look out for and discipline your children alone and not look out for and discipline their friends, as well as others in the community, all of that has a role to play.”

Cudjoe said during the MpowerTT programme, she heard many people say they felt abandoned by their parents and went looking for family among criminals.

“Some things you may look at as innocent and inconsequential do actually have consequences, like how we discipline children in schools. I’m seeing the debate right now on how you handle bullies.

"Whether police should be involved or not or you leave it to the school system alone. Where there are certain levels of bullying, should the children should be expelled or suspended, if parents should be charged? This is the conversation taking place, not only here but internationally. So we have to look at what we’re doing. We can’t be naïve about what exists and what our communities have become. And (we need to) establish and continue to work on systems and strategies to deal with that.”