Violence Prevention Alliance calls for early intervention in communities susceptible to flare-ups

The Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) is recommending that communities that are susceptible to flare-ups of crime and violence be given priority for early interventions. 

According to the civil society group, communities that are vulnerable to crime should receive early attention and not only those areas where the violence has become endemic and chronic.

“It can’t be business as usual,” said Dr. Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA.

“We have to establish early warning systems such as the tracking of patterns and trends of crime and violence related injuries in these communities and forge a closer relationship with the police,” she said. 

The VPA also condemned the recent shooting rampage in Westmoreland, which left seven persons dead including two children and 12 others wounded in separate incidents.

Ward expressed concerns about the impact that exposure and witnessing violence have on children.

“These killings will seriously affect the behaviour and development of the children whose loved ones were killed in the rampage. A 12-year-old and two-year-old lost their lives in the attack,” Ward said.

“Trauma therapy will be necessary for these children and it cannot be on a short-term basis, it has to be over the long term with on-going interventions,” she added.

Ward argued that more investments should be placed into fighting crime and pointed out that more targeted social intervention programmes should be put in place to deal with the country’s crime problems. 

“We must simultaneously address the root causes of crime and violence as clamping down on some parishes alone will not solve the problem,” she said.

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