The Tribune

By PACO NUNEZ

Tribune News Editor

UNRULY youngsters are about to learn first-hand about the consequences of deviant behaviour as Urban Renewal launches “Operation Shock Therapy” today.

The initiative will see public school students visiting Her Majesty’s Prison for an up-close-and-personal look at the consequences of crime and antisocial behaviour.

The developers of the programme say the aim is to use fear to get the rising tide of youth crime and violence under control.

“The Bahamas is currently facing a serious crime and social epidemic,” said an Urban Renewal spokesperson. “Public records show that this problem has not developed overnight, but is a direct result of some three decades of underlying social ills that have been growing from as far back as the early 1990s.

“We have seen the Bahamas transition from a tranquil, peaceful set of islands to being drastically challenged by various criminal elements. Major contributing factors to the problem are indiscipline, materialism and low self-esteem among young Bahamians which has caused a social catastrophe.”

Operation Shock Treatment will be launched today at 11am, when 20 students of CH Reeves Junior High School described as “at risk youths” will visit the prison.

Urban Renewal officers describe the initiative as a direct response to the national crime epidemic.

The spokesperson said: “The objective of Operation Shock Treatment is to curtail criminal activity and anti-social behaviour among youth by providing them with the experience of visiting prisons, clinics, hospitals and morgues.”

The first group of students will be led by Giovanni Ferguson, Urban Renewal senior community project facilitator and press liaison officer, who will be accompanied by Urban Renewal employees Sheryl Knowles and Dennis Dames, Police Corporal Don Dorsette, a number of community activists, and guidance councillors from CH Reeves.

Other crime prevention initiatives undertaken by the PLP government since its election in May include saturation patrols in crime ridden neighbourhoods, the demolition of derelict homes to prevent their use as drug and gun stashes, and the controversial school policing programme, which sees uniformed officers deployed on public school campuses.