I have learned lately about a spot where people stroll safely, secure in their sparkling city, without fear of burglary, murder, rape, car jackings or drive-by shootings; a place where women may walk or jog without fear; a place where children are safe; and clean streets and graffiti-free buildings are a reality.
For all our efforts, this dream spot isn't in America, nor are the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens guaranteed by the American Constitution. It is Singapore, a city roughly the size of Chicago, with a system of government which protects citizens from criminal violence by strict laws which are stringently enforced. The system works, too, as evidenced by Singapore having less than 5 murders and rapes per year (Chicago had 850 murders last year).
Singapore shows that strict, unvarying punishment for criminal offenses created a climate unaccepting and unforgiving of aberrant behavior. Singapore seems sensibly to assume the presence of those in society who don't want, on their own, to follow societal rules, and to provide law-abiding citizens with protection in the form of strict penalties for criminal acts which stops crime.
We are told this system won't work in America. Wonder why? America seems to assume that criminal acts are committed by those who don't understand or who aren't able to understand or who come from homes where they weren't taught to understand just what societal rules are and how to follow them. Rubbish.
You don't have to be a specialist in behavior management to understand that unacceptable actions which go unpunished or inadequately disciplined will be repeated. It is, in fact, the very uncertainty of the punishment that encourages the repeating. “Maybe this time I won't get caught, I won't get the full sentence, I'll get off on a technicality, I did it before and nothing happened ...”
Teaching "no” to children is neither difficult nor complicated. Certain actions — hitting or hurting others, touching objects that can be hurt, be broken, or belong to others, using nasty, ugly, unkind or dirty words, telling lies, taking things that belong to others, and destroying the property of others, are all "no," and can be easily understood by young children with parental example and teaching.
Children who can't or won't learn appropriate behaviors at home can learn from societal systems such as schools, churches, clubs, youth organizations, trusted adults and juvenile and court systems that try to teach "no.” By the time most criminals become known to the criminal justice system, they have had many opportunities to learn and understand "no”; they just don't think the rules apply to them.
The case of the America teen in Singapore who destroyed the property of others on a whim spotlights the sad state of our American judicial system. Just like millions of American criminals, this young man understands "no” but didn't change his behavior. Only the threat of horrible and painful punishment is making him (and the whole world) think twice about his actions.
He and others like him will never care that "no” means just that — not later, not sometimes, not maybe, but never, zero tolerance, "no” unless it is more painful for them for those they harm.
Darby Kethan has a master's degree in child development, and has experience as a social worker, educator of young children, educational consultant, and as a professional trainer for a national educational foundation providing professional development to teachers. Visit her website at darbykethan.com.
