Police urged to crack down on farm theft as farmers’ frustration grows

Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir has called on The Barbados Police Service to step up patrols to catch people involved in praedial larceny, which remains a persistent issue affecting farmers across the island.

Speaking in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Weir reminded lawmakers that the 2022 Protection of Agricultural Products Act had introduced tougher penalties for those found guilty of stealing farm produce, with fines reaching up to $100 000 or five years in prison.

But despite the legislation, farmers remain frustrated by the continued theft of their crops and livestock and are dissatisfied with law enforcement’s response, according to Weir.

He said: “This is legislation that we took a lot of time to work on, and with consultation with The Barbados Police Service as well. The legislation is very clear [however] farmers have reported theft and they are not satisfied that enough is being done. My question is how are we prepared to ramp up support to the farmers based on this act that is before us, and what is the status of the praedial larceny unit.” 

In response, Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce said island constables and police officers were working together on the issues. He noted that while there have been some arrests using surveillance cameras, the police still face difficulties in curbing the problem.

From the well of Parliament, the commissioner said: “We’ve had successes in terms of arresting persons who were caught with the employment of cameras, [but] some persons are working with us, but some persons are heavily over so on the presence of police officers. We have to get everyone working with us to prevent this problem from occurring.

“There is still room for more collaboration between the farmers and the police. That is something that we would have to work on – that constant interaction. What is occurring is that there is absence of regular engagement with persons in the agricultural belt and the police.”

Boyce did not single out the judiciary or the general public but noted that leniency was a factor contributing to the persistence of crop and livestock theft, known traditionally as praedial larceny.

He said: “We are well aware that there is not the bite when it comes to punishment in terms of setting examples for persons who are very often caught committing these crimes. The law is there, but there seems to be a soft spot in the hearts of some persons, that you don’t ‘kill’ a man for stealing those things. So the whole question is whether or not we should engage persons to make examples of persons who commit these crimes. It is something we need to look at very deeply.” (SB)