Hanif Benjamin: Poverty driving teens to crime

CLINICAL traumatologist and president of the Centre for Human Development Ltd Hanif Benjamin says poverty is the main driving force behind teens' involvement in crime, calling it the greatest trauma.

In an interview with Newsday on September 7, Benjamin, former head of the Children's Authority, responded to comments made by the Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher, warning parents the police would be holding them accountable for their children's activities, as she spoke on the increasing involvement of teenagers in crime.

Harewood-Christopher was speaking at a media briefing on September 6 at the Ministry of National Security, Abercromby Street, along with the Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and other senior officers in the police service on the worsening crime situation.

Benjamin said the family is critical in combating young people's involvement in criminal activities, which are closely linked to societal issues.

“Children who are dealing with poverty have no supervision and families are dealing with financial hardship. Those are the children you would find susceptible to the criminal element.”

He stressed criminal gangs are recruiting day and night and the challenge is a lack of resources to mitigate this.

“Young people are already dealing with other challenges: it becomes very easy for them to fall prey to the criminal gang because society is telling them they need to get rich faster. Their role models are driving nice cars, wearing gold chains and glorifying a fast lifestyle.”

He said fixing or dealing with crime is not only about gun and police/soldier manpower but a closer examination of socio-economic factors.

Benjamin questioned if the reason young people in crime are not reported by their families is because they provide financial help in the home.

“In the past, we have had children being sexually abused, and reports are not being made because the family is gaining from that. Is this the same scenario with gangs and crime?”

He believes there are not enough school-based mental health programmes, saying, “While we have the school support services, it is woefully lacking in its depth and its reach.“

He said mental health and learning challenges need to be addressed in the school system, but they are not being addressed cohesively.

“There is a backlog of cases in schools that need to be assessed for medication, which is very expensive. We are not treating mental health good as a country. Therapy and rehabilitation are important. We need to adopt a restorative style, mediation, at how to rehabilitate young people.”

Benjamin says the country must take a different approach if young people are to come out on the other side and regain a sense of stability in society.

He believes young people who have fallen into crime can be helped and contribute positively to society if systems are put in place to re-engage their minds.

Benjamin advised parents whose children are going down a road of crime and criminality to question what is happening in the home, urging them to think holistically.

“Our school system has a role to play in relation to after-school activities, keeping our young people busy, keeping their minds refocused and fostering ingenuity and innovation. Young people are bored: they need their cognitive palette positively challenged.”

He called on communities to support parents. He believes that positive push and support can pull children away from criminal elements.

“If we are not helping, we are just leaving children to their own devices. Some parents have to work later to make ends meet, and there is no real supervision. The community needs to step in. We have moved away from the village raising the child, criminals know this and have stepped in.”

He urged parents to get involved in their children's interests and in situations where there are none, help them find healthy interests.

“Get them away from the computer and the phone: get them involved in community activities.”

Benjamin called for more community activities in community centres.

“We need to get back to a place where we are actively engaging our young people.”

He again stressed the importance of a healthy and positive stimulation environment, saying it will determine the direction of young people.

“What are those factors pushing young people towards criminality? Who are their role models? What are they learning from them?”

Benjamin also outlined untreated childhood trauma, saying it plays a crucial role in the push towards crime.

“Childhood trauma is linked very closely with environmental factors. Events that occurred in childhood that propel young people towards a particular type of life? Poverty, sexual or physical abuse, learning disabilities, lack of opportunities to learn? We need to examine those questions."

He said answering those questions is critical to the conversation and achieving long-term goals.

At the media briefing, Hinds, in response to a question, said parents can be held accountable for their children's offences under the package of children's legislation.

Hinds highlighted a video of three male pupils in a secondary school gambling in a classroom while a teacher was trying to teach, which had gone viral on social media.

He said all government ministries were working for young people, but in addition, parental accountability for youngsters was critical.

Snr Supt Rishi Singh, who chimed in on the conversation, said under the Children Act, parental responsibility for errant children has been "a national cry."

Minister in the Ministry of National Security Keith Scotland said the Anti-Gang Act puts an onus on parents to report such matters.

“The Education Act mandates that children of a certain age must be in school.”

He also referred to the common-law offence of aiding and abetting a crime if parents facilitated their children's actions.

Scotland said the entire country needed to help arrest the current situation and the laws are already in place, it just needs to be acted upon.