Response to Maria
Maria’s point of view is no different from that of several other people who have commented about the issue of abduction and trade of illicit goods. Sadly, application of these cautionary measures over and over again has become known to the abductors and consequently become less impactful. I like Maria’s idea that we lock our cars and take care of our belongings. This could essentially reduce but certainly leaves a lot to be desired of our security as civilians.
The idea of not buying from the street vendors is however somewhat inhumane, in my understanding. Aside from there being crooks disguised as hawkers, the street hawkers’ majority are disadvantaged people trying to make a living and whose merchandise is genuinely acquired (Walsh and John 159). Buying from such people is not only a way of supporting their livelihood but, ironically, a way of reducing crime by ensuring that these people have a genuine source of livelihood. The secret to handling organized crime, in my opinion, is to elect a responsible government since it never happens without their knowledge.
Response to Ayannah
Ayannah’s hard stance on the prisoners who smuggle drugs into prisons is understood noting the possible consequences of smuggling drugs into a prison. It is however understood that the authorities in prisons face several political considerations in their decision making, apart from their professional obligations. While I agree that drugs are not the best form of dealing with their mental stress and depression caused by confinement, it is equally important to reason that the prisoners are not rehabilitated as yet; they are just in the process and such behaviour is thus obvious.
It should be obvious to Ayannah that for a person who has been through crime warranting their imprisonment, drug trafficking and its consequences thereof do not scare the prisoner as they still form part of the behaviour they were formerly addicted with (Small, Will, et al 831). The duty of the prison psychologist is to work with these prisoners in their current disturbed mental state until they reform.
Works cited
Small, Will, et al. "Incarceration, addiction and harm reduction: inmates experience injecting drugs in prison." Substance use & misuse 40.6 (2005): 831-843.
Walsh, John Christopher. "Street vendors and the dynamics of the informal economy: Evidence from Vung Tau, Vietnam." Asian Social Science 6.11 (2010): 159.
