There have been numerous reports of late on incidents of violent crimes, in which robbery was the primary motive. Unfortunately, such an effect is an ironic and undesirable, but hopefully temporary side effect of the government’s clampdown on organised criminal activity.

The fact that everyone has needs is understood. People need food, shelter, clothing, companionship, and other necessities. Money can buy most if not all of those necessities. In order to obtain money, most people work. However, some turn to crime, and they may use violence in the commission of such crimes.

Psychologists agree that “normal” persons do not wake up one day and suddenly decide to become violent criminals; there must, therefore, be some explanation of that behaviour.
Early thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner and Ronald Akers approached the problem from different angles, but, simply put, they all concluded that there must be pre-existing psychological factors.

That school of thought has since been corroborated by recent findings, one of which has to do with a psychological abnormality called anti-social personality disorder (APD).
It has been determined that, worldwide, about two to three percent of persons may be characterised as having some level of APD. The incidence of the disorder is higher among prison populations, and astronomically elevated among violent criminal offenders. There is, therefore, a correlation between APD and violent behaviour.

APD has been shown to have a genetic basis; children who grow up to exhibit symptoms have a tendency to be cruel to animals and other children. Adults with the disorder usually lack the ability to feel empathy or remorse. They may often break social rules and violate social norms, and exhibit delusional or paranoid thinking. They frequently engage in high-risk behaviour, and may abuse drugs. They usually crave instant gratification. And, importantly, they have a high tendency to become violent. Consequently, those factors make it difficult for them to keep jobs.

Combine those personality traits with the fact that everyone has needs, and what one has is an explosive situation. Sociologist Robert Merton has shown that a person with such a pre-existing biological personality disorder, who is exposed to a social environment of abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, or other traumatic experience(s), may be more likely than others to commit violent crime. And committing crime for gain (robbery), becomes probable.

And now we come to the question of how an increase in violent crime correlates with government’s policies.
A person who commits crime for gain–or any crime for that matter–does not want to be caught. Therefore, that person may engage in drug-running, trafficking in persons or any other criminal activity that has the potential of producing high yields, while having a relatively low risk of capture. There is overwhelming evidence that during the previous regime, under the leadership of Bharrat Jagdeo, there was a proliferation of such criminal syndicates. It would, therefore, have been relatively easy for crime-prone persons to find a place within criminal organisations and enterprises.

Now, on the other hand, the current administration has put a stop to state-facilitated crime. There are no more state-protected drug lords; no more state-run death squads; no more state-enabled cellphone-tracking computers.
So, the criminals who once enjoyed a life of luxury with their ill-gotten gains are suddenly without incomes. And, given their psychological propensities, they certainly will not seek honest employment.

What alternative are they left, then?
Such individuals, having a psychological predisposition to violence and being used to a life of crime, will, naturally, continue their criminal conduct. This, though, will necessarily be done in a less organised way, by attempting to fulfil their material needs through robberies. Although violent robberies have a higher probability of capture, they believe that they have no choice.

Considering the foregoing, law enforcement, and by extension the government, should consider the problem of violent robberies from a scientific perspective. If the preceding analysis has merit, then, if we do not have the expertise to address the problem, we must work to acquire it. We must work towards prevention, deterrence, and prevention of recurrence. After all, too many persons are traumatised by violent robbers; too many tourists are dissuaded from visiting our beautiful country owing to the fear of violence; and too many young men are losing their freedom or their lives, because they have taken the wrong path in life.