Governments throughout the world make promises to eradicate the problems rooted in their society. The average for the number of times they follow through on this is very low especially in less developed and developing countries. In these countries we find active involvement of NGOs to eradicate the problems on a private level when and where the government fails to.
Can NGOs be effective in the fight against global crime? In what ways?
An NGO by definition is a non-governmental organization that works towards making the lives of people better y concentrating on the root cause of the problem. The functioning of an NGO is dependent upon the funds it receives from the UN, government, organizations, private individuals, and many more sources. (What is an NGO? 2009). The mode of spending these funds has already been assigned and can not be used in any other manner. NGOs focus on a range of causes, from broken families to drug problems, from providing water to villages to providing protection. There is hardly a cause that is not being attended to by an NGO.
Plan of Action
One of the greatest problems the world is facing at the moment is the increase in the rate of crime all over. The astounding thing is that the increase is not limited to any one kind, but to all sorts of crime. Kidnappings, serial killers, smuggling, rape, identity theft, burglaries, and the list just seems to go on (UNODC and organized crime, 2009).
Most people would say that the best way to do away with these problems would be to imprison the criminals involved. But is that really beneficial? And if it who is it beneficial to? Them or the nation? Neither in fact, are benefited. Taxpayers’ money is used in housing them and while in prison, the criminals very rarely are reformed. It is very difficult to calculate exactly how much money is spent on them but a rough estimate is US$ 62.5 billion per year using 1997 statistics.
There are NGOs who do focus on trying to reform and help these people become a more productive element of society. The results are very difficult to measure as it is difficult to keep track of all those who have been reformed.
Prison is not the answer to correct what has been done. The criminals need to go through an extensive process whereby the main aim should be to get them to understand and convey what the reason is for what they have done. This can be done by holding workshops, one-on-one and group sessions, activities, meditation sessions, and many more. The cost will be there but in the long term, it’ll lead to a better civil society where the roles of the rejected will be much more useful to society than it would be with them sitting idle in prison.
Conclusion
It is almost impossible to determine that what will work for one person will also work for another. The aim of NGOs is to devise these programs and make sure that they spend the money in the most efficient and effective manner to make the world a better and healthier place to live in for everyone. Pilot projects would be a good start after which full training programs should be held and monitored at each stage followed by an evaluation to improve further.
References
NGO-Monitor/ www.ngo-monitor.org. (2009). What is an NGO?
Smit, D. Z. (2007). Alternatives to Imprisonment. Handbook of basic principles and promising practices ,88.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Web.
UNODC/www.unodc.org. (2009) UNODC and organized crime.