Crime against children : more serious efforts needed

Punishing parents won't do

The recent kidnapping,torture,sexual abuse and murder of 8-year old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin is a great blow to our reputaion as as peace loving and morally upright people.It is appalling to note that certain quarters are calling for action against parents whose children meet with similar fate. We may have legislation like the Child Protection Act 2001,but it should be meant for those parents and guardians who are directly or indirectly causing physical or psychological hurt to their children.

It would be unfair to point the finger at the parents and jail them for negligence in causing the gruesome of murder of their children. What greater punishment can there be for parents than losing their own children in such tragic crime?

The recent series of gruesome murders of children and the increasing crime rate in general should be a serious cause of alarm and worry and that should be tackled with great determination and zeal by all concerned. I am afraid that the authorities are not taking these seriously as they should.

They should put themselves in the position of the parents of the children who were brutally raped and killed to understand their pain and anguish. Today it is somebody’s child, what guarantee is there that the next victim may be our own?

In any crime against children there are a number of parties involved namely the victim,the assailent, the parents and the crime prevention agencies.

The victim in this case is an innocent child who should be absolved from all blame. It is the duty of the parents and the governing authorities to provide a safe environment for their children.The parents do share the responsibity of ensuring their children’s safety but they can do little to maintain the security of the outside world.

If allowing our children to play around the neighborhood or allowing them to walk to school a few hundred meters away is negligence, liable to be punished by a hefty fine and imprisonment, then we will have to lock up our children in our homes all the time. That may be the only way to keep them away from the predators that prowl the neighborhood.Is that what we want?What type of indivials will they grow up to be?

The police and other enforcement agencies are the only ones who can ensure a safe environment by keeping the criminals away. They have all the means in the form of manpower,equipment and weapons to enforce the laws which they must do so strictly without fear or favour.They must device ways and means to make our neighborhoods reasonably safe for us and for our kids.The onus is on them to provide a safe environment all over the country.

It is also equally important to find the reasons behind the increasing number of youths who resort to heinous crimes. This is a very serious social problem that must be attended to with urgency. There is no doubt that failure in education and unemployment are major underlying factors. What are we doing to address these problems?

It is time to review our strategies in fighting crime which seem to be ineffective and inadequate. With the present crime rate which has reached an alarming level, it is becoming increasingly unsafe not only to wander our streets and neighborhood but staying indoors an well.

Dr.Chris Anthony