We know things in our country are really bad when a 78-year-old man is facing murder charges.

Crime is nothing new to this country and sadly, for many, it has become a feature of every day life. We have however come to associate criminal acts with the younger members of our society and not the elderly. It therefore comes as a surprise to hear that an elderly man, almost 80 years old has been charged with the murder of a 54-year-old man.

According to a story published in THE STAR on Monday, the accused man, Joseph Fisher, was involved in a dispute with the now deceased man, who was stabbed during the argument.

Though Fisher may well be innocent of the allegations, it is still disturbing to know that a man of his age will have such a charge against his name and will have to go through the lengthy and sometimes frustrating court system.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that crime is the biggest problem faced by the people who run this country. A number ideas, plans and suggestions have been put forth as to how best to deal with this problem, but to date none of these have been successful.

Many people believe that our youngsters need to be targeted and presented with appealing alternatives to a life of crime. This is all well and good. But what about the elderly and middle-aged who are committing crimes, what should we do about them?