CRIME reduction.....developmental or moral issue?

"Crime" ..... a common yet fearful term. One that has become over-rated in many spheres, yet remains grossly "untackled" in any sustainable manner. Even the definition of "crime" has been disputed in various arenas, adjusting it where it suits power and material gain of those who claim to contain crime, identify crime or punish crime.

Crime has been a politico-legal issue till the past two decades, where its significant infiltration into the developmental world has generated various developmental responses. Issues around human trafficking - in particular child and female trafficking - have recently begun rearing their ugly heads on the HIV/AIDS agenda and become of critical concern to HIV/AIDS policy makers and programmers globally. See http://www.humantrafficking.org/capacitybuilding/toolkits

The Baha'i Faith aproached crime from a unique, practical and highly humanitarian angle. Baha'is believe that the community ought day and night to strive and endeavor with the utmost zeal and effort to accomplish the education of men, to cause them day by day to progress and to increase in science and knowledge, to acquire virtues, to gain good morals and to avoid vices, so that crimes may not occur. At the present time the contrary prevails; the community is always thinking of enforcing the penal laws, and of preparing means of punishment, instruments of death and chastisement, places for imprisonment and banishment; and they expect crimes to be committed. This has a demoralizing effect.

There are two sorts of retributory punishments. One is vengeance, the other, chastisement. Man has not the right to take vengeance, but the community has the right to punish the criminal; and this punishment is intended to warn and to prevent so that no other person will dare to commit a like crime. This punishment is for the protection of man's rights, but it is not vengeance; vengeance appeases the anger of the heart by opposing one evil to another. This is not allowable, for man has not the right to take vengeance. But if criminals were entirely forgiven, the order of the world would be upset. So punishment is one of the essential necessities for the safety of communities, but he who is oppressed by a transgressor has not the right to take vengeance. On the contrary, he should forgive and pardon, for this is worthy of the world of man.

It has been ascertained that among civilized peoples crime is less frequent than among uncivilized -- that is to say, among those who have acquired the true civilization, which is divine civilization -- the civilization of those who unite all the spiritual and material perfections. As ignorance is the cause of crimes, the more knowledge and science increases, the more crimes will diminish.

As Bahá'u'lláh confirms: "So long as one's nature yieldeth unto evil passions, crime and transgression will prevail." (Baha'i International Community, 2001 May 28-31, Overcoming Corruption in Public Institutions) http://statements.bahai.org/pdf/01-0528.pdf