This week’s Crime Watch edition is centred on common crimes in The Gambia, causes of crime, effects of crime in the society, members of the society involved in crime, and law enforcement agencies.

We will also try to put forward steps that can be taken in order to curb crime.
 According to Mr Edward Anthony Gomez, a legal practitioner, a “crime is an act or omission which is forbidden by law.” In the Gambia all criminal law is codified. In other words you can find them in the criminal code. Anything that is not forbidden by law cannot constitute a crime.

Crime, as in most other countries, is gradually on the increase because as society is advancing so criminals also advance; the more complex the society is, so also the more complex and advanced the criminals in committing their crimes and covering their steps.

The most common crime here in The Gambia is theft. One form of theft is known as a robbery. In the quest to take someone’s property, the culprit either comes quietly to take it away when the person is not watching or does so in the presences of the victim by force. The moment the culprit offers violence using a gun, knife, or even a stick and threatens to harm their victim, it is robbery and robbery is a very serious offence. Any person charged with robbery and found guilty is likely to go to prison for 14 years whereas ordinary theft can be 5 years in jail.

Committing a crime is not just restricted to somebody breaking in to a house and taking somebody’s property.

Perpetrators of crimes can be people from all walks of life.
To know or have knowledge of the criminal code or criminal procedure code is not common for the ordinary man. It is usually for those who have been trained as lawyers or have done some law courses. So it is necessary that the public is made aware of what constitutes law in relation to crime in order to serve as a precautionary measure for the public. This can be done through radios, newspapers, and more importantly on the national television.

Focusing more on people involved in crime, there is no social boundary; anybody can be disposed to commit a crime depending on certain circumstances.
If we talk about the causes of crime, there is no single motive or reason for people to commit a crime. Most crimes are somehow related to particular situations or circumstances.

For example, in cases of theft or robbery, when a thief goes into somebody’s house, the motive is to remove the person’s properties and make it one’s own. In the case of homicide, it is categorised. There is murder, manslaughter, etc.

Aggression is one cause of murder. Take, for instance, the case of the two Senegalese who had a brawl. One stabbed the other four times before he died. The culprit was sentenced to death. So many homicides have been committed due to the aforementioned reason. Another good example is the woman who poured hot oil on her husband.  

At the same time, some commit homicide when they are intoxicated
Other forms of crime involve rape or defilement, drug trafficking, and organised crime.  
To control or limit crime, there is the need for a very strong and efficient police force.
If police officers are too few, it will be difficult for them to control the crime. But if there are some tangible numbers stationed in some strategic locations, the chances of success in containing crime are buoyant.

The general public should take into consideration the fact that every good citizen, even non-citizen, is a police officer. It should be the duty of everyone, when you see something strange in your community/ compound, to report and inform the police about what you see or notice. People should be vigilant about this. There is no need to fear or feel reluctant to go to the police. All law enforcement agencies have informants and they need to protect their informants as they are a vital source of information.