Saturday, March 23, 2013

Ryan report takes aim at white collar crime; recommends investment in youth

The Ryan report on crime laid in Parliament Friday recommends that the state should invest more resources to fight corruption, money laundering and embezzlement. It also said there should be greater checks and balances to keep high-ranking officials, including politicians, in line. 

Ryan and his team also recommended a National Service Scheme involving vocational institutions, youth camps and correctional institutions.

It also made recommendations for dealing with the drug crisis and crime. It says the Ministry of National Security should "diligently" pursue white-collar criminals and that laws should be instituted to deal with campaign financing, "whereby there should be limits to financing, transparency in recording financing, and greater accountability.

In addition it recommends national and regional policies which facilitate in-depth financial investigations and asset seizures to seize profits from corruption rings, drug traffickers and organised crime groups. 

Another recommendation is the creation of job opportunities inc entral Trinidad to compensate for job losses in Central Trinidad due to the closure of Caroni (1975) Ltd, recreational facilities and education and training to alleviate a growing alcohol abuse and domestic violence problem in that part of the country.

The report says men in both major ethnic groups in the country are at risk with those of African ancestry being economically insecure with men of Indian heritage suffer from an identity crisis. 

However, the report states that the Indian family remains more resilient and risk-resistant than its Afro-Trinidadian counterpart and had so far been better able to address the issues that afflict the creole (black) family.

"The evidence, such as it is, points to the conclusion that the Indian family, extended and nuclear, is still viable and support their young members while the single parent is still prevalent in 'hot-spot' type communities....While they were at risk for several social pathologies, Indo-Trinidadian youths are not as seriously at risk as a group.

"What the figures show is that Indo-Trinidadians were less likely to live in 'hot-spot' neighbourhoods where handguns and drugs were easily available than Afro-Trinidadians and would be less likely to be affected negatively by these facts."

Despite this the report says young black males are not all underachievers. "Indeed, the majority do well as they have always done," he said. 

"Poor blacks have to be enabled to catch up and compete. The road ahead will be long and winding, but it is one that the entire society has to take preemptively. Not to do so is to court unsustainable social conflict which may occur sooner rather than later," Ryan saud.

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai