#BTEditorial – There are times when ‘extreme’ is necessary

President of the Barbados Police Association (BPA) Sergeant Mervin Grace knows it. Head of the Unity Workers’ Union Caswell Franklyn has articulated it. Convenor of the Criminal Law Committee of the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) Martie Garnes has complained about it. Many providing vital public service to the country suffer because of it.

So the question is: When will the government move with dispatch to address problems that require more than lip service and spasmodic remedial action?

There are many individuals who are critical to the dispensation of justice in Barbados who work under situations that are far from satisfactory. Indeed, there have been many who worked in the most deplorable conditions, with successive governments failing to deal with the dilemma in a timely and efficient manner. Sergeant Grace, at the BPA’s recent 62nd-anniversary church service at the Church of the Nazarene in Collymore Rock, drew attention to the distressing conditions under which police officers work out of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in The City.

He stated: “One of the major issues that I am grappling with now is the sick building syndrome, especially at the Criminal Investigations Department right now. I have a serious matter where there is a mould infestation. They attempted cleaning and it’s continually growing back at the particular location down at Redman Drive.

“We are definitely looking at relocation from that point, and I do not think that I would be minded to agree with the government [about] retrofitting the particular building, cleaning it, and putting the guys back in there. I cannot see that happening; the building itself is a sick building. Cleaning and going back in will not solve the issue.”

The BPA president stressed that if the matter at CID persisted, officers might have no choice but to avoid working from the building entirely. Grace’s cries are not new. Others previously sitting in his chair, such as retired Inspector Hartley Reid, also highlighted similar scenarios. Rodent infestation and the presence of other vermin at the old Hastings and Worthing police stations in Christ Church, coupled with the issue of leaking roofs, all made unfortunate headlines in the past.

A new station that amalgamated those two was built after years of protests. But, as often occurs with government buildings, a lack of maintenance or state negligence can easily and quickly render new structures as problematic as the old. We will keep a close watch on this facility.

It would make for an interesting study if the research department within the Barbados Police Service conducted an investigation into the number of officers who have died over the years from respiratory illnesses, cancer and other diseases that could be related to the condition of the various stations at which they were posted.

We suspect, though, that it would be a study that is discouraged as it could lead to a wave of lawsuits – statutory limitations considered – against the state if negligence in maintaining government premises could be linked to the suffering or death of employees.

Franklyn, too, has been an advocate for better treatment of public and private sector workers in terms of the conditions of their working environment, remuneration and length of tenure. In addition to addressing the sick building syndrome, he has spoken on the length of service public workers, such as police officers, must work before they are eligible for pension.

Much of the problem, though, seems to be not only of working conditions but the attitude of those who are charged with dealing with the situation and who can actually provide tangible solutions to problems.

For many, the recent protest action by attorneys-at-law over proper parking access at the refurbished Henry Forde and David Simmons Legal and Judicial Complex on Coleridge Street, The City, might seem to be a storm in a teacup.

Garnes, who voiced the concerns of his colleagues, suggested that the protest action on the surface would appear to be about parking access but noted it was one of the several issues affecting the delivery of justice in the island.

“We were not out there just for parking. We were out there because there were a number of issues that we see every single day in the criminal justice system,” he said.

“We just wanted an amicable resolution and we got it and we are thankful for it. So, we are just hoping [that on] the other issues we would have raised, there would be further dialogue because all we want is to be heard; consider what it is that we are suggesting in terms of the problems and the challenges that we experience. And we are also providing solutions; it’s not to say we are just identifying issues and not providing solutions.”

The day before the lawyers’ protest, in a story in Barbados TODAY about their intention to go that route if their issues were not resolved, Attorney General Dale Marshall described the plan as “surprising, unfortunate and extreme”.

We beg to differ. This is not the attitude to be adopted. When we see problems as trivial, very often we take extremely long to solve them – if we resolve them at all. When complaints of police officers, lawyers, nurses, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are taken with immediate seriousness and solutions found swiftly, protests are avoided, and fallout from sick buildings is prevented. Being extreme to push for positive action often saves the day.