#Editorial

Gambia amid rise in crime rate!

Sep 17, 2021, 11:39 AM

The rising crime rate in the country is a cause of concern. Many would agree that hardly a week passes without reading or watching in the news about a violent crime that ripped another neighborhood.

This has even reached a point when innocent citizens are scared to leave their premises at certain times of the night or day.

 The security of the country and citizens has been dominating public debates. And it appears the country’s efforts are not enough to curtail the incidents.

 As the country heads to crucial December 4th general elections, voters should make wise choices as far choosing their leaders is concerned. 

 Already, politicians have started to convince voters by bombarding them with promises to fix their needs when elected into office. But after elections these promises are never fulfilled.

 In was in the headlines on local press that Police recently charged an 18-year-old (name withheld), who was alleged to be the principal suspect in the alleged murder of Ousman Jarju. 

Similar violent incident took many by surprise when a number of youths stormed former Army General Lamin Bojang’s Brufut residence. These youths were acting in revenge amid the killing of one Abdoulie Sanneh alledgedly by Yusupha Bojang, who is said to be the nephew of General Lamin Bojang.  And the list goes on.

 At this point, we want to remind parents and guardians of their cardinal duty to nurture; inculcate positive virtues into children under their watch. We are not trying to blame all parents for the negative vices of some youngsters, who choose to adopt violent lifestyles. 

 However, engaging our youth meaningfully will help them contribute positively to national development. There is a popular saying that ‘an idle brain is the devil’s workshop’. 

 Many would attest to the fact that since the start of the year, a good number of crimes mostly murder have been reported in the media. This, at some point, has raised eyebrows in public discourse. The government should introduce drastic measures to deal with this gang of notorious criminals. 

These unbecoming behaviors among a column of the country’s youth should be tackled head on.

We wish to commend personnel of the anti-crime operations dubbed - Operation Zero Crime for a job well done. Since coming into force, the personnel of this unit have made significant arrests and destroyed notorious ‘ghettoes’ in some of the neighborhoods believed to be a hub for illegal dealings and drug use.

However, more still needs to be done to rid the country of criminal elements. It isn’t an easy task but with all hands on deck we can do it.

“ I’ve got no dark secrets, I wasn’t beaten up, my parents were kind to me and there was a low crime rate where we lived. Maybe that’s where the comedy comes from, as some sort of reaction to the safe, boring suburbs.”

Will Ferrell