Sex Offenders: Do you really know your "neighbour"?

 by: Kymberli Whittaker

Do you know how many sexual offenders, rapists or child molesters live in your neighbourhood? Contrary to the belief of some persons, many sexual offenders and predators don’t live only behind zinc fences and in garrison communities, they also live behind pretty walls, automatic gates and well trimmed hedges.  They could be your friendly neighbor, extra-lesson teacher for your kids, Grocer and even your co-worker and unbeknownst to you they lurk, plan and plot to commit sexually motivated crimes on a day to day basis.

Unfortunately we cannot go into a person’s mind and know the perverted thoughts they harbour and prevent them, but as a nation we should have the power to reduce the amount of dastardly acts by being informed and acting accordingly to protect ourselves and our family from persons who look so innocent but have a convicted criminal record for committing a sexual offence, especially against children.

There has been much debate and discussion over the years about the creation of a Sex Offenders’ Registry to track local offenders. The Sex Offenders' Registry was established as a part of the Sexual Offences Act which was passed into law in October 2009.  However, the regulations for the Registry were tabled in November 2012 but were not put to use because of the absence of a database.  In May 2014, we were told by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Peter Bunting  that the data system to facilitate the Registry was complete and work was to begin to get the stakeholders up to date.

This is awesome news that we are actually making headway after almost 5 years of waiting, however I am concerned about its effectiveness once implemented as this is a collaborative effort between several Government agencies. Our courts need to have efficient reporting procedures and as an entity steeped in the paper or hard copy mentality, they will have their work cut out for them especially as it relates to sending the necessary information for the previous convicts. For this Registry is to work, we need to establish a proper system of entering information on the offender within a timely basis in order to facilitate efficient dissemination.

I anticipate that with this Registry we will be able to see the communities where most offenders live and try to stage an intervention and  if possible to attack the root cause of the problem and prevent others  from walking down that road of perpetuating sexual abuse towards others.

Hopefully the fear of having their name, address, alias, photograph, date of birth and places frequented placed on a list will detract many from committing these type of crimes, and for those who have have already offended, the fear will keep them in line. Sexually motivated crimes are high on the list on crimes where re-offending takes place and this has been ignored for many years, as we falsely hope that the persons released just change their ways and choose not to re-offend. and this is ludicrous. There is no evidence that they receive counseling while incarcerated or special help to understand the issue and prevent it from taking place which helps to contribute to the cycle. 

Now as we know the group JFJ is the Champion for the protection of the rights of different categories of criminals, and they have posited that  “people have served their time and done their punishment”, yet we would be “stigmatizing them and leaving them vulnerable” if their information is made available to the Public.  However on speaking on behalf of my law abiding citizens, I say that  for too long our rights have been ignored, abrogated and treated with disdain. We deserve the right to at least to know how  many sex offenders live where we live; live where we send our children to school,  as  some of our kids have to walk to school daily.  So far we have been taking risks without knowing the odds, and we should be able to take calculated risks and not leave things like safety up to chance.

If the Government is afraid of crimes being perpetrated against convicted persons who have served their time and now roam the streets, this is indeed a valid concern, as Jamaicans really have little tolerance of persons even just accused of rape (although it would seem that persons of the higher echelon are able to get rid of this stain and be accepted with open arms by many upstanding citizens), however knowledge is power and I believe this knowledge can empower us. Names can be withheld from the general public  but be of use to other agencies where this information relating to character is crucial. Also persons who are sex offenders should be prevented from entering certain occupations where they may be placed in a compromising position based on their history and predilections .

This Registry is important  and once implemented will play a  critical part in  Jamaica's development. I am no longer patiently waiting, but I am anxious to see what our Government is coming with, and what terms and conditions will be attached to the implementation. I want to "know" my neighbour. Do you?

Students and Truancy

by Kymberli Whittaker 

As the new school year approaches, preparation is being made by parents and children alike for the start of the new school term. Some children look forward to new shoes, a crisp set of uniforms, new books, knapsack, and a shiny pair of shoes. The sad truth is, for some children, when school starts the shoes lose their shine, and being back at school loses its novelty. It is back to the same old routine, getting dressed to sit in a class hour for almost 6 hours a day. As the days pass, less and less students in many primary and high schools across our nation simply stop going to school everyday.

An unfortunate number of students attend school on an ad-hoc basis and then turn up for exams, and as expected perform poorly. They lack the basic skills which would give them some amount of leverage in the real world, and the cycle of poverty and crime is perpetuated as a result.

An active Truancy Unit is needed in the Ministry of Education to deal solely with Truants or absentee students and also parents need to be held accountable for their children’s absence from school without explanation. Many students stay home. This is a hard concept for many who have passed through the traditional high school system to understand, where a register is marked daily and if there are any discrepancies in behavior or attendance the parent or care giver is called in. Many students with the knowledge of their parents stay at home or roam the streets during school hours.

At the end of the last school year I was able to view the school report of a female high student from a Corporate area non-traditional high school with over 100 absent days. The teacher recommended in the report that if she attended school on a consistent basis that her performance would be better. Of course this Grade 9 student failed all the subjects she sat in exams. “Where are the parents?” I asked in shock. The reply I received is that they were poor and had no money, and also that the child did not go because she did not feel like attending. The parent was called in to the school, but nothing came of it.

Through investigations, I found out that this child was on the PATH programme, and received assistance allowing her to get meals free at her institution and also to get cash to offset expenses. She was removed from the PATH list most likely because of her poor attendance record, however there was no evidence that more was done. I believe children should not have a choice to attend school or not. They cannot be left to their own devices to choose to go. Their brains are underdeveloped and  they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. They are not adults and a sustem needs to be put in place to mandate them to go.

Chronic absenteeism needs to be tackled immediately. Section 27 of the Education Code says a student can be dropped from the register if he is absent for up to a month without notifying the institution of his withdrawal, but before we reach this far, I advocate that there should be an authority to regulate absenteeism, so that teachers on marking a student absent for an apparopriate period to be decided, can report it and truancy officers can investigate each case to decide how to proceed.. If money is the problem, the children should be placed on the PATH programme as this is one of the reasons it was instituted and monitored and if they lapse there should be consequences. If there are behaviourial issues, the children should be identified, so that corrective steps may be taken to curb their behavior through boot camp, rehab or therapy. If the parents are hindrances to their child’s attendance, I advocate for stiff penalties to deal with them.

Parents who prevent their children from attending school, for different reasons, such as forcing them to sell on the road, or work in the family farm during school hours should be held criminally liable for their failure. Child labour is often overlooked in Jamaica, and some parents exploit the fact that more persons are willing to give to a child beggar than an adult. Some parents simply do not enforce rules at home and promote indiscipline, which results in the children running amuck when they go on the road. Then we wonder why there is so much lawlessness and lack of discipline that pervades Jamaica.

Schools should be held accountable for failure to abide by the regulations of reporting Absentee children or truants, and it is only then, we can really say we are making steps to educate our nation as a whole. Too many are falling through the cracks and then we as a nation look, condemn and try to get our own kids into reputable institutions, wondering how over 100 schools can be operating at a less than desirable level. These are the children who do not do well, continuously repeat or are promoted to other grades to flunk out. They are not able to formally enter the working world and this also contributes to the low illiteracy rate. These are the people whose interviews we laugh at when watching the news, giving birth to viral videos; the people who we see and never want to associate with or cause us to hold our purses near to us when we go on the road.

A little interest goes a long way. How can our students learn if they are not in school. For this school year I challenge you all to not support truancy and absenteeism. When we see children on the road during idling during school hours, especially in uniform- call the school, call the police, call the Ministry of Education…honestly I don’t know who you are to call, but something has to be done. We need a TRUANCY HOTLINE!

Take a stand against illiteracy…Take a stand against poor exam results….Take a stand for Jamaica’s development…Take a stand against Truancy.

“This aint Ferguson”: Will You be marching against the JUTC Bus Fare Increase?

by Kymberli Whittaker

On August 20, 2013, The Generation 2000 (G2K) issued a press release stating its opposition to the recently announced fare increases for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses. Their President Floyd Green made some salient  points regarding mismanagement of funds, pillaging of pockets of those who can least afford it, etc., all of which is aimed at looking about the interests of those at the lower end of the economical strata. Admirable to say the least.

What is not admirable is the hard and fast stance taken by the JLP. They are not asking for the increase to reduced, but instead they want no increase at all. This I cannot reconcile.

I will compare JUTC to a pretty  house with a weak foundation at its base, and no furniture on the inside. Commuters are able to ride around daily in luxury in Air Condition, sitting in comfortable seats with music wafting through the speakers to provide ambiance. It looks nice on the outside, but an important question to ask is, how is this being funded?

It is important to note that drivers of their own personal vehicles in these harsh economic times, have to wind their windows down,  wishing they could turn on the A/C, and when they go to the gas pumps they  state “$500 gas please” from the pump  attendant with no shame. Times were hard last year, and it will be even harder this year.  People have accepted it.

JUTC is not making a profit, they are not even breaking even as $10,000,000.00 a day is lost just to keep the company up and running. This is tax payers money not JUTC’s money that is flushed daily as we travel up and down in A/C on buses blazoned in the National colours of our flag.

As it stands now, the government has reduced the fee for Senior Citizens to $40 from $60, as they deal with the backlash, but as a people we need to look and dissect that there is a huge problem with how the JUTC is being run.  Just recently in April of this year, the JUTC announced that they would be adding 69 new Volvo buses to its fleet by month end, providing an additional 3,657 passenger seats, also the JUTC imported 18 containers of parts since last year, in an effort to have adequate parts to maintain all its buses. These things do not pay for themselves, and we should have seen the fare increase coming from a mile away.

Is the JUTC operating above their means? Of course. But that is not the concern. We weren’t complaining when money was being spent to acquire the new buses. We dont complain when we take the buses and do not pay toll individually when travelling from Portmore. Yet the toll has to be paid with the JUTC owing millions for its daily travel. I won’t lie, it is being run like a business, for example we saw less licences being granted to outsiders in the transportation sector  in order to give the JUTC more market share, but the hemorrhage is still continuing.

PROTESTS

This is not Ferguson. Persons and Civil Society Groups have been invited to protest at a mass rally with the JLP and some have declined. Andrew Holness, the JLP Party Leader has even stated that even if he is the only one in Half Way Tree he will be standing up against it.

This is Jamaica, no lives have been lost, and we can see that even when lives are lost, we are quick to wrath but slow to action. I caution that if the party has been encouraged by the support of the protestors of the Professor who marched on his behalf, most likely they won’t be out because it is quite likely that they drive. As it stands now the $20 increase will not draw fire and brimstone from the masses. Unfortunately I do not believe that this is the proverbial straw which broke the camel’s back.

I went on a JUTC bus today, and persons were already trying to pay the $120 only to be told “Not today”. Persons have already started budgeting for it, and many will mumble and grumble but will not question it.

The protestors in Ferguson are passionate about the issue and want to see change. In other words, “dem tired and fed up”. As a people we are not tired and fed up ,because we are not asking the right questions. This problem is not one that mushroomed overnight. Why is it just coming to the fore? Are they accountable to no-one?  We are not keeping abreast of the issues while this company is being run into the ground. From what I can see looking in, an effort is being made now to salvage what they can (let us pretend to ignore the IMF agreement influencing most decisions nowadays), and as a people we have to be reasonable in our demands.

If protesting I would protest for accountability and a plan to be presented to the public to stop the hemorrhage of funds, cause as stated by the JUTC Chairman, The Reverend Dr Garnett Roper “if the provision of spare parts and maintenance of the buses were taken into consideration, it would cost the JUTC management an estimated $560 per ride to keep the units on the road”. I would not protest over the increase, because it is minimal when placed into the proper context.

Remember I said it, This $20 is only the beginning.

Reduced Access to Tertiary Education: Dilemma for the Poor

by: Kymberli Whittaker

"Do well and you will be rewarded". This is the foundation on which educational goals are set. The higher up you climb on the educational ladder, the better off you will be. Children are admonished to pass GSAT (Common Entrance in my day) in order to go to a prestigious High School; then get good results at CXC so they can either go to Sixth Form or go straight to University. 

The objective of getting good passes at Fifth and Sixth Form is to gain acceptance to University to become the famed, Doctor, Nurse, Lawyer, Teacher, and Businessman to make money and get a better life. If born “poor” or “financially strapped”, the saving grace for many in these challenging economic times is the Students’ Loan Bureau.

Children are told that the only “right” way to make it in life is to get an education. Yet it seems that this “right way” is becoming more exclusive and elusive for those who do not have the “right” pockets.

Currently, the Students’ Loan Bureau is yet to identify the 1 Billion from the 1.8 Billion needed to finance loans for students: 6000 new and 9000 returning for the academic year 2014-2015. The school year officially starts September 1, 2014…less than two weeks away.

For the academic period 2012-2013, the institution faced a significant challenge to meet the $4.2 billion needed.  In October 2012, $1.7 billion or 41 per cent of the projected $4.2 billion to be disbursed was identified at that juncture. This shortfall is obviously not a new problem, and yet here we are again, two years later, looking at the causes, pointing fingers and yet not finding any viable solutions.

The figures are disturbing as the numbers agreed to be disbursed this year is almost three times less than that in 2013. It is clear, that fewer people are receiving financial assistance from the main entity put in place to fund tertiary education for the poor, and there is less money to pay out to the reduced numbers.

The SLB's  Mission Statement is fast becoming obsolete:

“THROUGH A SUSTAINABLE REVOLVING LOAN FUND PROVIDE THE POOR AND OTHERS WITH AFFORDABLE  FINANCING FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION AND CLIENT SATISFACTION THEREBY CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIAL MOBILITY AND NATION BUILDING.”

It is evident the fund is not sustainable as is, and as a result will affect the poor and "others" with a ripple effect of reducing opportunities for social mobility and nation building through an educational platform. The fund aimed to benefit the poor will not be accessible to the poor. The poor ,who once they prove their need, have to pay money to insure the loan before it can be disbursed to the institution. The poor, who have to find additional sums for boarding/ living expenses if coming from rural areas, transportation, food, books and other materials necessary  to be successful in whichever degree they decide to pursue. The poor, who simply do not have it to begin with are at a greater risk of not being granted loans to assist in their social mobility.

We are in real trouble. Again, the news of the shortfall for the year  has come at the 11^th hour.  Hall Orientation has started  at UWI as the academic term draws nigh…yet, loans are still pending.  If we as a nation are not careful, the buck will stop at CXC for more and more students.

The loan scheme is to be a revolving  fund, however, those who have received loans in the past are not contributing to the fund as desired. Some persons simply cannot afford to repay their loan at the end of their university tenure as they are yet to receive gainful employment; others are employed in jobs which once their basic needs of food, shelter and clothing are met cannot  repay the loan while others simply choose not to. The latter  borrow and repayment is not a priority.

The Students' Loan Bureau has approached the private sector for funds to assist in closing the funding gap, but without any known success as institutions are unwilling to lend to SLB without a Government of Jamaica guarantee. It is evident that SLB's current loan model cannot sustain the growing demand for student loans without considerable yearly increases in capital. And even with a hundred per cent compliance rate for repayment, on the part of borrowers, the increased demand for more student loans calls for greater capital injection in the SLB.

Jamaica’s economic climate is harsh, however one has to acknowledge that we are treading through dangerous waters, as Bachelor’s degrees are almost a dime a dozen, with several institutions offering programmes and at the end of the student’s tenure,  jobs commensurate with qualifications are hard to find. The stance taken by the Ministry of Education in prioritizing certain degrees for loan assistance probably has been a long time coming. Popular degrees such as Business Administration and Law are to feel the pinch, as relevant and under-subscribed  professions are given priority.

Students have to be strategic in career choices as it is pointless to go to school for 3-4 years only to sit at home with the same degree.

Tertiary education is becoming grossly undervalued and out of reach, so what then  can we do to secure  the future of the country.? Depending on the government and their institutions is not the way. Firstly parents need to start saving from birth to lessen the burden, as I believe that much responsibility is shafted to the state. $100 saved religiously at intervals during a child's lifetime is one way. We need to get into the culture of planning for the long-term.

The NEI Reports have shown that many students are under-performing, year after year. I believe the Government should stop paying for CXC Subjects. Great initiative but the free mentality at this level  is not heralding positive results.  The money saved can be put in funds to assist our youth who have accepted the challenge to work and make it in life.

  The Private sector also needs to step up to the plate because the environment which will be created in a few years will detract investors and prevent economic stimulation thus reducing profits and directly affecting their business. Alumni of institutions, need to step up and invest in their people and thus invest in their country. Jamaica has come a long way and as citizens we need to take a more active role in our nations’ development to prevent tertiary education from returning to the luxury it once was.