Whatever became of shame ??

Whenever a society justifies crime and corruption, shame becomes one of the deterrents that is lost in the process. My people, “Sankofa”- let us go back to the days when ‘shame’ served as a deterrent to crime and corruption in Ghana.

“Kalabule,’ “I pulled a fast one on him/her”; 419 schemes, prostitution, armed robbery, bribery and corruption- all in the name of “times are hard” and so the end justifies the means,” are not acceptable in any quarters and so one will ask- “Whatever became of shame and one’s conscience?”  

                    Shame as a deterrent to crime is an old phenomenon in the Ghanaian culture. People in those days were afraid of bringing shame to themselves and to the “ebusua” (clan).  Shame can be a very effective crime prevention mechanism especially in disgracing professional armed robbers, delinquent teenagers and people involved in white collar crime. We have work to do in educating the youth of today that crime and corruption do not pay and that it is a disgrace to oneself, clan and the nation to be a thief, corrupt politician or civil servant, a 419 schemer, a prostitute or to take bribes.       

           One scholar stated that some societies have higher crime rates than others because of their different processes of shaming wrongdoing, which is perfectly correct in reducing crime. I remember in Ghana we used to be hard on shaming criminals to the extent that going to “counter- back” (the back of the counter at a Police Station) was a big deal and sometimes one would have to be “cleansed” (ritual) in the sea after the ordeal as symbol of washing away bad spirits and the stigma of an encounter with the Law.

The most effective way is when shaming is done within a cultural context of respect for the offender and the nation’s abhorrence to crime and corruption of any nature. Shaming can have an extraordinarily positive effect on the whole society and go a long way in performing a social control of crime and corruption.

           There must be certain conditions for such shaming to be successful. First of all, there must be radically different criminal justice policies in place that must not be seen as punishment for crime and corruption but as a means of social control towards greater emphasis on morality.

            Many people do not refrain from crime because of the fear of punishment. It is sad to say that the harsh punishment meted out by the Criminal Justice system does not deter some people from committing crimes. To some people it is not a big deal. They see society as accepting and to some, “everybody is doing it.” It is not shameful to be caught or their consciences do not bother them. Even many so called “Christians and Muslims” may lie, cheat, steal or commit a crime without concern for the consequences.          

 My belief is that one’s social cultural experience in growing up as a child and one’s exposure to the idea of the shamefulness of crime put one in a position to stay away from a life of crime and corruption. What are we teaching our young ones today? As a Ghanaian, I am advocating that we should go back to our days of teaching civics in elementary schools, traditional leaders and Chiefs should play a huge role in talking to the community about the dangers of crime and corruption through example. Churches and Mosques leaders ought to teach and practice morality. Our politicians and community leaders need to set good examples.

I remember, when I did my National Service in the Upper West Region of Ghana, during the late 80’s, criminals were put on display in market places on Market Days to serve as a deterrent to crime. Some criminals were sometimes banished from the society, depending on the type of crimes that they committed. Some are either banished for life or for a specified number of years or months.                 One may ask if stigmatization will make matters worse in our society today. Shaming with dignity as a form of rehabilitation will help in combating crime and corruption but we have to first, get back to the notion that crime and corruption do not pay and that “the end does not justify the means.”

                The sad part of criminal subculture is that shame is neutralized and “the end justifies the means” becomes acceptable. Often subcultures invert shame and so crime and corruption become acceptable. Even law enforcement officers and people in places of authority perpetrate crime and corruption with impunity.

              In conclusion, one may talk about crime, punishment and reintegration into civil society but the bottom line is that while crime and corruption are being punished heavily some of the time, one may have thought that it would have change offenders’ life-styles but they have not. In my opinion, one’s social cultural experience in growing up as a child, religious training and one’s exposure to an early idea of the shamefulness of crime and corruption put one in the path of hatred for crime, corruption or deviancy as an option. We are thought to behave in a certain way in order to avoid shame and to be a responsible, country-loving human being. Please, let us go back to our old traditional way that crime and corruption do not pay and that the end does not justify the means. Righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to all people. “When the wicked man rule the nation, the people perish but when the righteous rules they prosper.” –Sankofa- let us go back and embrace shame as a deterrent to crime and corruption.

             I rest my case.  

Kofi Boye-Doe,
Criminal Justice Department (Washburn University, Kansas)

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