Slaying the Juvenile Delinquency beast
Juvenile delinquency in the Virgin Islands is a social, cultural, and economic devourer: a ravenous beast. If it is allowed to grow as swiftly as it is growing at present, it will destroy the fabric of Virgin Islands society. Juvenile delinquency can be defeated however, through intervention early in the life of the child at danger. It can be further managed with corrective education during the teenage years of the delinquent. EDUCATION is KEY to defeating the juvenile delinquency OCTOPUS.
This is first of three stories on the subject. It begins with a preamble. The following is an assessment on the locale of the HAMILTON LAVITTY STOUTT COLLEGE: BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
This Researcher recently completed months of research on the CRISIS of JUVENILE DELINQUENCY in the Virgin Islands. He did this at the local college: a wonderful institution sited at a very pleasant and exquisite location in Virgin Islands paradise. The college was the result of the enormous efforts of a visionary politician: a Great Virgin Islands Leader who faced much opposition getting his dream off the ground.
The college sits on luxuriant flat lands, surrounded by rolling hills. The hills are mostly empty of homes or houses under construction. Hills, laden with homes, small, medium, and large, are commonplace in these Antilles: a veritable part of the topography.
The national facility for learning situates at the center of a large government farming project. Grazing cattle, ambling herds of goats, the odd horse, and donkey, are a pleasant reminder of the rustic aspect of these islands. Barns, pig pens, stables, vegetable farms, and massive green houses adorn the college’s environment.
Often, shrieking pigs, and bellowing cattle, tell of a final fate at the abattoir seated on the eastern end of the site. The facility, which further holds a marine school and technical center, squats close to a pristine sea channel, and a naturally landscaped coastline. It is probably one of the best places to experience the true tranquility and beauty of these Leeward’s.
There is frequently a sea breeze blowing through the facility. Soothing zephyrs loudly rustle palm fronds. Those breezes also whistle through the main buildings and surrounding verandahs, cooling the insides and giving the college a truly idyllic atmosphere, especially in the evenings. It is certainly a great place for learning. The college is a veritable XANADU, for anyone serious about research and study.
Ironically, the front perimeter of the facility hosts the most dangerous piece of road in the Virgin Islands. The road runs through the college. The college is sited on either side of the road. The road is part of a main artery linking the center of the island to the East. The college has two major entrances on this road from where students and staff enter and exit the facility.
On weekends, wannabe drag racers turn the road into a veritable racetrack. 7 days a week, regular motorists, instead of slowing down when approaching the area, which is essentially a school zone, instead accelerate, creating lethal chaos. Why the temptation to speed in front of a college of all places? Only heaven can tell. There are near misses daily, and weekly crashes, on this road.
Tragically, there have been two deaths as a result of this dangerous dynamic: one of a student of the facility and a precious daughter run over by a speeding vehicle; the other, a motorist burned alive after a collision. Traffic calming measures in front of the college are urgently needed, before another life is taken.
OK! Enough said: back to his juvenile delinquency project.
And the end result of his research into the CRISIS of JUVENILE DELINQUENCY in the Virgin Islands was an 80 page report. The research which included a survey of key stakeholders and assessments of various methods and models for fighting juvenile delinquency was an eye opener. The conclusion reached was this one: despite the growing and alarming rate of juvenile delinquency in the Virgin Islands, it is a mammoth that can be slain. THERE IS HOPE!
To be continued
Dickson Igwe is a current affairs columnist and a scholar of strategy. Connect with Dickson Igwe on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Email Dickson Igwe at dicksonresearch@gmail.com
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