In an effort to empower the youth of his constituency and tackle crime, Pinewood Member of Parliament Reuben Rahming said he is taking the initiative to create a sense of value within the youth, particularly the young men, with a program he referred to as Pinewood Keepers.

Rahming’s comments came yesterday during his appearance Love 97’s radio talk show Jones and Company.

When asked by the show’s host and CEO of Jones Communications Wendall Jones how he seeks to inspire the young men, Mr. Rahming said teaching them that “hard work, good manners and civility are important.”

“We need to get back to where we put our children in the ‘children’s pen, that’s the place, the walls, the barriers to show respect,” Mr. Rahming said.

“Because the training that they get in play and discipline trains them to how they operate in life.

“Right now you see little babies in the pampers twerking and the parents [are] laughing in the background, what do you expect that child to be [when older].

“The strategy we are bringing in to Pinewood is holistic. It’s so simplistic that people don’t even realize what is happening.”

Mr. Rahming said as it stands with this generation, children do not have good examples and children must be taught how to treat and respect their elders.

To the question posed to him by Mr. Jones, regarding crime fighting strategies and initiatives, Mr. Rahming said he was calling all law enforcement agencies in Pinewood to work together.

“I have to say this about the crime initiative. I spent a lot of time dealing with crime throughout my life, [and] what we are going to be doing in Pinewood, very shortly, is we will be initiating Pinewood Keepers,” Mr. Rahming stated.

“We are calling all security forces that live in Pinewood, police force, defence force, immigration, customs, even private security firms. We are starting with them first.

“I believe in ownership and we are going to say, ‘You’re living Pinewood man, we are tired seeing the police officers, we are tired of this.’”

Mr. Rahming also noted that there are more than 150 combined of law enforcers that reside in the area, therefore the community efforts should yield good results.

“We have enough security forces in Pinewood. I am sure easily we have over 150 of them. That is a police force in the community, just between their shifts we should have no problem with that effort,” Mr. Rahming said.

“We will start with them because I want them to have a sense of ownership, then we will bring in Urban Renewal,” he said.

Responding to Mr. Jones’ comment of the program being a crime watch, Mr. Rahming said it is greater than just a crime watch program and alluded that although it would be a Pinewood initiative, once the community gets the ball rolling they will extend it to the wider communities.

“Greater than that [crime watch], Pinewood Keepers, because we want it, and then when we have the people professionally skilled, we will invite the wider community to come and attach to it their expertise,” Mr. Rahming explained.

“But I want them to see that, ‘listen here’, I’m living in this community. I am a part of this community and I will step up in this community.

“I want them to begin to wonder now, if that is a cop house I am going to break into this time. I want to inculcate in them that the community is me, community is we.”

Pinewood Gardens has seen its share of homicides in the last few months, a problem Pinewood Keepers is hoping to help to rectify.