The Central Bureau of Statistics only confirmed the general feeling of a most regrettable rise in crime rate in our beloved country.

Homicide figures are said to have increased by 13.4% from 2005 to 2006 while sexually related offences climbed by 38.8% during the same period.

Most cause for concern comes from juvenile delinquency which is said to have increased by 40.9% during that period.

It would be most foolhardy for all of us to underestimate the threat such a trend represents for the future of our country.

It would therefore be wise to stop for a minute and seriously think about what could have led to such a situation and what can feasibly be done to reverse the drift.

Is society teaching our children to differentiate between good and bad? Or is moral education on the contrary regarded as being as outdated as religion, its favourite vector? Are parents taking pains to admonish their wards for their misdeeds or are they instead suffering all their whims in silence for fear they might love them less should they show some severity?

Are our wards being taught to be responsible before being taught to worship the successful?

Are our children respectful of authority? If not why is that so? Might it not be a result of the disproportion between bad publicity around our institutions as compared to praise?

Is there a perception of impunity with regard to crime? If so why is that so? Could it not come from the fact that rights of criminals seem to be more publicised than victims? predicaments? Additionally, is there not a disparity between detailed reports of criminal acts and news of their respective sentences?

Do our children respect the police? It is worth noting that according to NAtionmaster .com, Mauritius is the silver medallist for the highest police per capita rate with 7.2842 officers per 1000 population. These figures date back to 1998-2000. Now that we have reached a rate of 9.4officers/1000 (Yr2006 figures) it would be interesting to know if we have not progressed to the top.

Has the population been prepared to face the sudden technological progress of the last ten years especially concerning television and the Internet? Has there been a study of the link between the prevalence of crime and the presence of TV in our households? According to Media Education Foundation in the US an average 18 year old child will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders on TV. Could this be without consequences? What about our children, especially with the profusion of channels?

Are we turning into an individualistic society which worships success to the point that only ends count and justify all means including violence? What could be the effect of such an attitude on our children?

Having asked ourselves these few questions would it not be wise to amongst others:Promote good values at home; exert more control on TV; request an even more assertive police presence in public places especially vulnerable ones; accept and promote a level of authority proportional to the threats we are facing at school and request an ongoing campaign against violence and other crime in the media especially on TV and radio.

Around 400,000 Mauritian are aged between one and 20 years.They can either be our locomotive to progress or lead us to definite regress. It is the road we pave for it which will determine our future, so think about it and act quickly before we all derail...