By MALCOLM STRACHAN

ONE of the main campaign positions of both of our last administrations has been an emphasis on eradicating the scourge of crime. As record murders were set under both the Ingraham and Christie administrations, our politicians, in hopes of engendering confidence in the electorate, claimed to have the answer.

Inarguably, the former government’s performance on crime was woeful. Prime Minister Minnis’ boasting of a Cabinet that would include a former Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force signalled a commitment to getting the job done this time around.

Certainly, under the leadership of National Security Minister Marvin Dames, this administration has reduced the numbers of people being killed in the country. Many had believed Dames’ experience as a high-ranking police officer would pay dividends, and he did not disappoint.

But we can also stand in one accord that despite the reduction of murders, there is still a glaring social issue. Our young men continue to choose to join gangs - stealing the futures of our sons, brothers, and in some cases, fathers, who end up on a path that leads them to jail or an early grave.

Celebrating fewer murders feels like a vain exercise if we are not also reducing the number of young men joining gangs.

While we understand the powers-that-be view gang violence as a concern, it does not appear to be high on the list of priorities.

Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 may be occupying our attention when it comes to social issues, but we cannot lose sight of the battle for our young men from the inner city. They too suffer limited opportunities in harsh economic times. This perhaps makes a life of crime more attractive.

Last Thursday’s mass murder that killed six men puts our tragic state of affairs on display for all to see. No doubt, the horrifically public nature of these killings has shaken the country. Only a few hundred meters away from the police station after being released from custody, some suspect this was a well-orchestrated hit, and it reeks of the country’s drug and gang wars.

On one hand, we have been relieved crime has reduced, but how can we feel safe when we live in a country where violent acts like this play out in broad daylight?

Time and again, the Royal Bahamas Police Force assures us the country is safe, and that violence is only being done by a few bad apples. But we must be careful not to allow the conversation to end there as we may risk an explosion of violence.

This isn’t just the parents’ problem. Just as this is our society, this is all of our problem.

We can all remember what the country felt like in 2011 as the level of violence escalated. While murders have been marginally lower, we are continuing to see young men hauled before the courts for drug and gang-feud motivated killings. Mothers, and where they are present, fathers, were left with the stigma of what they did wrong in their child’s life to end up on either side of the gun as the rest of us looked on as if we were somehow immune.

As long as this remains a game of ‘good guys against bad guys’, an unchecked social epidemic may spread as opposing sides try to up the ante – answering violence with more violence. And although the current administration came in with a focus on crime, our little country set against the backdrop of paradise is still ranked as one of the top ten murderous places in the world per capita.

This is, indeed, sobering.

Outlined in the Free National Movement’s social agenda ahead of the 2017 election was a focus to launch a real property tax amnesty programme, combatting HIV/AIDS, reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, improving the Disability Register, implementing the Disability Equal Opportunity Act and enhancing the National Commission for Persons with Disability.

While the government has successfully contributed to each of these areas during their tenure, there has been no real thrust to create social programmes to empower youth and create environments and provide resources conducive to healthy family structures.

Thus, we are still embroiled in a vicious cycle with our young men becoming harder to reach.

If we consider what the past year and some has done to ordinary citizens – those who have not faced trauma and adversity their whole lives – we can only imagine what those who have been more disadvantaged coming from the inner cities have to deal with. And yet, as a society, we lack the empathy to demand our government addresses the problem at its foundation.

I have said it in this space before, and I will say it again – as long as we continue to have the mentality that these young men are either foreigners or foreign to us, in the sense that promotes an “us versus them” mentality, we are missing an enormous opportunity to build a better country and save the lives of so many of our young men.

When a child is born, we are all like a blank hard drive waiting for software to be downloaded – clay waiting to be moulded by the potter. We are developed by various inputs – our parents, our environment, our community, teachers and economic standing. It will be a grand day in our country when our leaders realise the importance of the investment in every single Bahamian child when they are young – especially those born in the most challenging circumstances.

Because when we don’t, a world out there awaits them that we have seen has a propensity to turn young men into monsters.

Whoever forms the next government needs to have an incredible understanding and appreciation for the heart of this particular social issue and develop a strategic plan to reverse course. We have been spiralling out of control for over a decade now, and it will only become harder to fix this problem.

To all political parties seeking to form the next government - it’s time to put on your thinking caps. Let us know what will you do to address this issue.