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Northern Caribbean University

College of Business and Hospitality Management
Salem/Runaway Bay Campus
Department of Professional and Continuing Education



ARTICLE REVIEW

Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Course:



COMM 251: ORAL COMMUNICATION


Facilitator: Mrs. Ozette Waugh-Fagan


Submitted By:
Tameica Bradber 31100607

Date: April 28, 2014





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The article, Taming the Crime Monster written by renowned journalist and author Ian
Boyne sought to highlight the difficulties that are being experienced in addressing the
issue of crime within the country. These difficulties stem from the fact that we are
unsure of exactly what we need. In that to fight crime tougher measures have to be put in
place which includes providing the police with additional powers. The article mentioned
that there are vocal cries for the government to do something about the crime issue every
time there is an incidence of crime that is considered gruesome. Human rights groups and
citizenry of the country distrust the police and believes this empowerment will act in
direct contravention to the expected outcomes. Consequently, social reform is being
promulgated which have failed in its bid to address the crime issue. The author is
therefore proposing an integrated approach which he believes will adequately address the
crime problem whilst ensuring that the social interventions relating to values and attitudes
reformation, re-socialization and the creation of a just society are also implemented. He
also stated that, We need to clean up corruption in the force, and significantly improve
the efficiency with which we conduct police investigations. We need to vastly ramp up
our intelligence gathering. We need to have a more technology-driven approach to
fighting crime. We need to have a well-run, well-oiled, first-class justice system which
delivers justice speedily so that those who commit crime know they are very likely to be
caught, and quickly.
It is my opinion that the authors reference to our attitude towards taming the crime
monster as schizophrenic is very appropriate. Schizophrenia refers to a mental disorder in
which an individual finds it challenging to distinguish between what is real and unreal
and is unable to think clearly. This is obvious in our seeking to find a solution to tame the
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crime monster. The measures that may prove effective presents a challenge for human
rights groups as well as citizens. The police cannot be entrusted with the additional
powers it would take as they will abuse those powers. Socio-economic interventions are
considered the better alternative but these gains cannot be had within the short term.
More mayhem and bloodshed will take place before the fruits of these measures are fully
realized. However, I believe the integrated approach which was proposed will go a far
way in addressing this problem. In the short term, the gains may be minimal but overtime
the benefits to be derived will see a significant reduction in the crime problem.
Individuals will develop certain values and attitudes that will allow them to become
model citizens and finding more favourable means of addressing differences. The title for
the article is also appropriate as the problem of crime has become a monster. One that has
proven challenging to eradicate due to its rapid widespread growth.
The writer sought to strengthen his argument by making reference to measures that would
have been posited as the means of addressing the crime monster. These include pointing
to what would have been said on the topic such as social intervention, poverty reduction,
increased educational opportunity and employment and community empowerment. He
concedes that these are good but the issue at hand is one that requires speed in
addressing. If this is done in the short term then in the long run we are all dead!
This article has shown to me that we know what needs to be done to address the issue of
crime. We have failed to implement these measures due to human rights concerns. We
also need to develop the willpower that is needed as the task is not an easy one and there
will be consequences for those actions. The end result however, far outweighs the
consequences as we would have significantly put a dent into the crime problem and our
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social structure will be one that is noteworthy. This article would be recommended for its
insightfulness into what can be done to tackle the monster of crime.