Posted by dj on July 12, 2000, at 0:41:32
In reply to Orgins of crime and adolescence , posted by stjames on July 11, 2000, at 23:01:12
> So if crime is stable, isn't it time to start working on it's roots ? This paper makes it clear how crimals start. We need to direct resources like crazy to the root of this problem, the kids.
>Don't have time to read the referenced paper right now. However, having worked on an Inquiry into Policing in British Columbia back in 1993, I know how true what you noted is and that in Canada the rates have been dropping for some time, despite misguided media hsyteria and distortion of the degree and impacts of the issue. Fear sells, as a former news anchor here recently pointed out, and that's what drives much of this programming - simplistic mindsets.
There is a movement called the Culutral Environment Movement (CEM at www.cemnet.com or org, I belive) which focuses on dealing with the media distortions and how they affect our mass perceptions and re-actions and our society, never mind distorting stress levels for some, grieviously.
Dealing with kids is very important but just as important is dealing with the mindset that creates and perpetuates this distorted and dangerously hysteria producing coverage.
Media literacy training is one way to deal with this dis-ease, which in your country results in, amongst other things one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Which is not necessarily an effective systemic coping mechanism in the long term, these breeding grounds for reinforcing criminal links and instincts in those who are often societally disadvanteged in the extreme, from the get go...
Namste!
dj
poster:dj
thread:40135
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/40149.html