Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 16/Jan 04:54

In defence of the increased fines

BRIAN SANKARSINGH FOR DECADES TT has lived with crime as a constant companion. It didn’t arrive with economic hardship, and it didn’t disappear during prosperity. Even in the height of the oil boom, when money flowed and jobs were plentiful, crime remained stubbornly high. That alone tells us something uncomfortable but necessary. Crime here is not only about poverty. It is also about tolerance. Even as a young man in my twenties living in Trinidad in the 80s, I have always believed that you cannot stop serious crime while ignoring the small ones. A society that shrugs at littering, reckless driving, public disorder, and everyday lawlessness quietly trains itself to accept worse without batting an eyelid. When minor offences go unchecked, they send a message far louder than any press conference: the rules are optional. Even though at that time for me this idea seemed logical, I could not understand how the people in power could not arrive at the same conclusion as a 20-year-old. So, imagine my surprise, decades later, to find out that this idea is not new. Criminologists have long referred to it as the “broken windows” theory. The principle is simple. When small signs of disorder are allowed to spread, petty crimes such as broken windows, graffiti, aggressive driving, illegal dumping, they signal that no one is in charge. That signal emboldens more serious offenders. New York City learned this lesson in the 1990s. By aggressively enforcing minor infractions such as fare evasion, vandalism, and public disorder, the city saw dramatic drops in violent crime over the following years. Homicides fell by more than 70 per cent between 1990 and 2000. The streets didn’t become safer because of luck. They became safer because standards were enforced in the general population. TT, by contrast, often does the opposite. Murder statistics are debated while ignoring the daily chaos playing out on our roads and in our neighbourhoods. Dangerous overtaking. Driving on the shoulder. Speeding and reckless driving. Litter thrown from car windows. Noise laws ignored. Traffic lights treated as suggestions. Cars and trucks that are unfit for the road driving on the highways and byways. These are not harmless acts. They reflect a culture where enforcement is rare and consequences uncertain. Ignoring these everyday misdemeanours means the government and law enforcement behave in a reactive manner when it comes to bigger crimes and felonies. When the average citizen sees these behaviours go unpunished day after day, confidence in the rule of law erodes. People stop believing the state is serious. Criminals notice too. If no one cares about the small things, why would they fear consequences for the big ones? Police data consistently show that many serious crimes are committed by repeat offenders who previously had multiple minor run-ins with the law. Each missed opportunity to intervene early becomes a stepping stone toward something worse. Zero tolerance does not mean brutality or abuse of power. It means consistency. It means that laws on the books actually matter. This is not about harassing the poor or criminalising survival. It is about fairness and the proactive enforcement of the rule of law. When everyone is held to the same basic standards, whether they are drivers, business owners, public officials or citizens, it creates order. Order creates predictability. Predictability creates safety. Governments often promise crackdowns on crime, but real intent is not measured by speeches. It is measured by whether a reckless driver is stopped. Whether illegal dumping is fined. Whether traffic laws are enforced every day, not just after tragedy strikes. These small acts of enforcement are how trust is rebuilt. TT does not lack laws. It lacks follow-through. If we want to change the crime narrative, we must stop pretending that violence exists in isolation. Crime grows in the soil of neglect. And the first step to uprooting it is showing, clearly and consistently, that disorder, no matter how small, will no longer be tolerated without consequence. The post In defence of the increased fines appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.