Why do some sections of the community turn to crime? Photo / NZME
Why do some sections of the community turn to crime? Photo / NZME
OPINION
Robert Brown knows “hurt people, hurt people”. And yet after years of offending he was able to turn his life around.
What the judgmental fail to understand and don’t want to accept is this truth – People like Brown are not afraid of prison. If you’ve ever spent time with crims, the downtrodden, addicts, perpetrators of violence and victims, you’ll know that’s a fact.
For the record, I have. I was surrounded by them as a child and I’ve spent the last 15 years having one on one conversations with hundreds of them.
The vast majority who commit crime don’t want too. The foolish will say they had a choice. I would suggest, regrettably, in the mind of most offenders (like Robert once was), it’s the absence of choice and a double dose of self loathing that leads them to crime.
When you feel you have nothing to lose you don’t care, and you most certainly do not fear punishment.
The judgmental form opinions based solely on what they see in the media. They point to the statistics in relation to Māori offending and crime because it fits the conventional dominant narrative of Māori as “the defendant”.
Thing is, statistics and data do not on their own provide a complete story and can be very misleading.
Disraeli was right when he said, “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics”. Restating the stats here won’t help solve the problem, primarily because the stats in relation to crime are behavioural symptoms. They are not the problem.
Here’s what I’ve learned – a mailed fist on its own will never fix crime.
Getting tough on crime is nothing more than an overly simplistic trite political sound bite for the unthinking. All “getting tough” on Brown did was strengthen his resolve.
You need to know when, how, why and where to use a mailed fist and or a velvet glove. Having someone who genuinely believes in you and is willing to help you live your best life is the key to intergenerational change.
I’m no bleeding heart liberal. Prudence and pragmatism have and will always be my compass. The last thing you need to tell a naughty person is they’re naughty. They already know.
Do we need prisons? Yes. Do we need more prisons? No.
Do those who commit crimes need to be held accountable? Yes. Do we need to do more to prevent crime? Yes. Do we need to provide more support for victims? Absolutely 100 per cent.
Communities and people like Robert Brown actually know what’s best for them. It’s why people who care like Cliffy (a former policeman) and his wife Indranee Reddy who have been instrumental in Robert’s redemption are vital if we want to reduce offending, addiction, and mental illness.
The Reddys sold their cafe and home in 2005 to fund faith-based community outreach programmes and used their own savings to establish them.
Community driven by projects and services is where government should put the bulk of our taxes. Do not continue to flush hundreds of millions of our taxes down the loo by building more prisons and using conventional state-driven service providers.
That’s the definition of stupidity. The drivers of crime are socio-economic poverty and paucity of spirit. A decent society would focus on those. Getting tough on crime and wasting our taxpayer money building more prisons won’t reduce crime.
The key to life is hope. Secrets will keep you sick. Like Robert, when you make honesty your drug of choice, and have the courage to share your brokenness with others that’s where the magic happens.
It won’t happen overnight. In fact it will take generations, but it will happen if as a society we have the courage to focus on the drivers of crime and not the symptoms.
Boris Sokratov is a Bulgarian-Māori and has whakapapa to Te Rarawa Ngati Haua. He was the producer of the Nutters Club Radio Show. He helped establish the Key to Life Charitable Trust that supports mental health advocate Mike King.
