Law as a Deterrent: The Trinidad and Tobago Anti-Gang Act 2011

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The Trinidad and Tobago Anti-Gang Act 2011, strives toward making provision for the maintenance of public safety and order through discouraging membership of criminal gangs and the suppression of criminal gang activity and for other related matters. It seeks to reduce criminal gang activity by making membership of gangs and related activities unlawful; these comprises involvement in a range of offences including murder, robbery, larceny, arson, firearms and ammunition offences, drug trafficking, rape, kidnapping and attempts to commit any of those offences (Act No. 10 of 2011). In accordance with the 2011 legislation gang membership and recruitment efforts are offences liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for ten years and on any subsequent conviction on indictment to imprisonment for twenty years. The Act further describes the tended punishments, conviction and sentencing times as seen fit for the different illegal aspects of gang membership and criminal acts.
An understanding of personal choice can be used to explain why persons choose to join gangs and engage in criminal activities. Commonly based in a conception of rational choice theory, personal choice advocates people freely choose all behavior, both conforming and deviant, based on their rational calculations. A person’s actions may be influenced by their specific background like the kind of neighbourhood s/he comes from, situational factors such as persuasion by friends and motive as need for money or status (Paciotti, 2005). Using rational theory analysis, a person’s decision to violate the law is weighed against possible punishments. For example previous success with similar targets, self-perception of his/her own skills, ability to elude law enforcement, and...

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...on Tenth Parliament Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. http://www.ttparliament.org/legislations/a2011-10.pdf (accessed February 7, 2014).

Grasmick H.G., Bursik R.J. (1990). Conscience, significant others, and rational choice: Extending the deterrence model. Law and Society Review, 24: 837-61.

Guardian Media Limited . "Time to make anti-gang laws work." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. http://guardian.co.tt/editorial/2012-08-25/time-make-anti-gang-laws-work (accessed February 7, 2014).

Paciotti, Brian . "Classical Theory." Lecture 8: Classical Theory, Deterrence Theory, Rational Choice Theory, Routine Activities Theory. http://www.brianpaciotti.com/lecture%208%20FALL%2005.pdf (accessed February 12, 2014).

Stafford, M. C. , S. D. Goodrum. "Deterrence Theory, Crime." Scribd. http://www.scribd.com/doc/12494382/Deterrence-Theory-Crime (accessed February 26, 2014).

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