Govt’s action on gangs and rising crime: The public debate should also reflect victim’s perspectives
Unfortunately, it seems to have become unfashionable in New Zealand to reflect upon and respect the victim’s perspectives in the public debate around rising crime and gang violence and the accompanying government (in)action.
Instead, the debate largely remains rooted in the “left” versus “right” view or the “politics” versus “experts’ views” of law and order.
The recent most instance is the public debate after the government’s latest crackdown on gangs and crime in the form of a new intimidation offence and slightly stronger search and seize powers.
The ensuing public debate has been once again, and almost boringly, on the expected lines. The opposition - National and the ACT Party – were quick to dismiss the new announcement as too little and too late, while the experts were equally quick to register their view that the government was forced to respond “politically” with a set of measures that will have little impact on the emboldened gangs and the rising spate of crime.
The Green Party viewed it as a possible encroachment of rights and protections under the ‘Bill of Rights,”, especially of Maori and Pacifica communities.
Sadly, there was no representation and advocacy for the view of the victims of rising retail crime, which largely comprises ethnic migrant minority communities, who by default finds themselves at the forefront of increasing retail crime.
While the news about gang-related violence attracts maximum attention from the mainstream media, political leadership and crime experts, the day-to-day pain and fear of small dairy store operators largely go unnoticed or at least do not attract similar political attention.
It is conveniently assumed that the victims’ views on the deteriorating law and order situation - calling for strong-handed response largely juxtapose with the views of political “right” – and hence socially regressive and not worthy of representation at the higher echelons of power.
It is important to clear, though, that those at the forefront of experiencing an unprecedented spike in ram raids at their workplaces do not necessarily call for “strong police and law enforcement action.”
Their actual and more inherent desire is for an immediate sense of security and annihilation of fear that automatically spikes up after every instance of an audacious act of crime, ram raid and armed assault on them or in their neighbourhood.
If this could be delivered immediately, in real-time, through social intervention measures aiming to fix the inter-generational anomalies and inequalities, that would be great and welcome with open hearts.
While the government continues to self-pat their backs for not being the government of “rhetoric” as their political opposition and instead a government that listens and follows the advice of “experts,” they seem to accentuate the contempt of victims who first-hand experience the rising crime graph.
Maybe it is time for law-and-order experts to commission some studies on how to ameliorate the pervading sense of fear within the dairy-store owners, retail operators and their staff and families, which fails to receive any credible political ownership, particularly from those who pride themselves as socially progressive.
It is also prudent to ask this government which always makes it a point that it is not a government of rhetoric but a government committed to targeting the long pending inter-generational issues that precipitate gang-related violence - about what steps it has taken so far and how significant has been the impact in the last two terms in the government.
So far, the rising crime graph, as evident in the form of audacious ram raids by unbridled young offenders, clearly demonstrates that there has been little impact of the so-called social intervention measures – something hard to digest for the government.
It is in the absence of a reduction in the crime graph and an increasing level of fear and uncertainty around safety in dairy stores and retail shops and any accompanying confidence and reassuring measures by the police that the call for some strong actions automatically spikes up.
And to always underplay those genuine real, word voices under the guise of being socially regressive and just for chest-thumping and the politics of law and order is not progressive at all.
More needs to be done, and always.
Unfortunately, it seems to have become unfashionable in New Zealand to reflect upon and respect the victim’s perspectives in the public debate around rising crime and gang violence and the accompanying government (in)action.
Instead, the debate largely remains rooted in the “left” versus “right”...
Unfortunately, it seems to have become unfashionable in New Zealand to reflect upon and respect the victim’s perspectives in the public debate around rising crime and gang violence and the accompanying government (in)action.
Instead, the debate largely remains rooted in the “left” versus “right” view or the “politics” versus “experts’ views” of law and order.
The recent most instance is the public debate after the government’s latest crackdown on gangs and crime in the form of a new intimidation offence and slightly stronger search and seize powers.
The ensuing public debate has been once again, and almost boringly, on the expected lines. The opposition - National and the ACT Party – were quick to dismiss the new announcement as too little and too late, while the experts were equally quick to register their view that the government was forced to respond “politically” with a set of measures that will have little impact on the emboldened gangs and the rising spate of crime.
The Green Party viewed it as a possible encroachment of rights and protections under the ‘Bill of Rights,”, especially of Maori and Pacifica communities.
Sadly, there was no representation and advocacy for the view of the victims of rising retail crime, which largely comprises ethnic migrant minority communities, who by default finds themselves at the forefront of increasing retail crime.
While the news about gang-related violence attracts maximum attention from the mainstream media, political leadership and crime experts, the day-to-day pain and fear of small dairy store operators largely go unnoticed or at least do not attract similar political attention.
It is conveniently assumed that the victims’ views on the deteriorating law and order situation - calling for strong-handed response largely juxtapose with the views of political “right” – and hence socially regressive and not worthy of representation at the higher echelons of power.
It is important to clear, though, that those at the forefront of experiencing an unprecedented spike in ram raids at their workplaces do not necessarily call for “strong police and law enforcement action.”
Their actual and more inherent desire is for an immediate sense of security and annihilation of fear that automatically spikes up after every instance of an audacious act of crime, ram raid and armed assault on them or in their neighbourhood.
If this could be delivered immediately, in real-time, through social intervention measures aiming to fix the inter-generational anomalies and inequalities, that would be great and welcome with open hearts.
While the government continues to self-pat their backs for not being the government of “rhetoric” as their political opposition and instead a government that listens and follows the advice of “experts,” they seem to accentuate the contempt of victims who first-hand experience the rising crime graph.
Maybe it is time for law-and-order experts to commission some studies on how to ameliorate the pervading sense of fear within the dairy-store owners, retail operators and their staff and families, which fails to receive any credible political ownership, particularly from those who pride themselves as socially progressive.
It is also prudent to ask this government which always makes it a point that it is not a government of rhetoric but a government committed to targeting the long pending inter-generational issues that precipitate gang-related violence - about what steps it has taken so far and how significant has been the impact in the last two terms in the government.
So far, the rising crime graph, as evident in the form of audacious ram raids by unbridled young offenders, clearly demonstrates that there has been little impact of the so-called social intervention measures – something hard to digest for the government.
It is in the absence of a reduction in the crime graph and an increasing level of fear and uncertainty around safety in dairy stores and retail shops and any accompanying confidence and reassuring measures by the police that the call for some strong actions automatically spikes up.
And to always underplay those genuine real, word voices under the guise of being socially regressive and just for chest-thumping and the politics of law and order is not progressive at all.
More needs to be done, and always.
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