Crime, corruption and security

What is even more important is to address the social problems to seek a permanent and humane solution to the crime problem. What draws people to crime needs to be investigated and steps need to be taken for a long term effect. Equal opportunity of education and jobs is a pre-requisite for peace in the society. With a high level of unemployment, it is only natural that the youths will find their way into other things. Job creation, vocational training, and placement help for the young people are critical to making them a productive part of the society, rather than destructive elements. Social justice is a key requirement to ensure that people are not disillusioned about the laws of the country. If laws are applied to everyone equally, then people will be less prone to violating them. When people are left out to a miserable life of hunger, poverty and sickness only to watch what the rich section is doing often in flagrant violation of laws because of their high connections, some of them will make justifications to do something more radical. And who can blame only them?

Crime and corruption are just two faces of the same coin. Crime does not only mean toll collecting, hijacking, drug-trafficking, killing and the like. Corrupt practices like bribery to get one's way illegally, getting preferential treatments by political connections, getting a job or contract by nepotism are just as big a crime as are encouraging or condoning exploitation of women or serving the rich and powerful. Moral education for the society is as important as any other education, if not more. Every area of the society should embark on ethics training for each kind of work at every level ­- government or private, industry or academia.

Moral teaching may not have as tangible results as physics or accounting or engineering, but the actual return will be huge in the form of a low-crime, low-corruption, and a more peaceful society. Unfortunately, there seems to be little attention to this aspect from our social and political leadership. Until we start doing something in this respect, crime-corruption containment efforts will be just band-aid, with no real cure for the problem.