With the murder rate reaching a record high of 41 in Barbados so far this year, one criminologist is pleading with policymakers to come up with more creative and innovative ways to help tackle the problem.
Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit Cheryl Willoughby says in recent times Barbados had become an angry society, and officials should seek to find the root of the problem and address it.
“People are calling you out from side roads and they are angry when they are doing it. They are serving you as part of the service industry and they are angry while doing it. We have to look at what is causing some of the problems, some of the stresses, some of the situations we are confronted with on a daily basis,” said Willoughby.
She was addressing a small gathering at Sky Mall on Friday for the official launch of an anti-violence jingle to kick off activities for crime awareness and prevention month.
Willoughby proposed that a lot more anti-violence messages be created and disseminated over social media platforms as one way of tackling the issue of crime and violence.
She also urged officials to “go on the blocks, the byways and highways of Barbados” in order to reach the youth.
“Forty-one murders is something that is unprecedented in Barbados. We have never had so many murders in any given year. So it is time we step out of our comfort zone, out of the regular way of doing things and look for innovative ways to reach our young people,” she said.
Willoughby said the jingle, which encourages those who have a disagreement to desist from using violence to solve it, was timely and should play a major role in helping the youth to think twice before engaging in violent activities.
“We have had 41 murders for the year . . . It is important that we recognize at this point in Barbados we have to find creative and innovative ways of responding to crime and this is just one of those crime prevention efforts that I believe is necessary for us to reach our young people. It means using social media to a large extent because that is where they are at . . . it is important that we use what they are using in order to get our message to them,” she explained.
Pointing out that the murders were not only affecting the justice departments, the crime fighting official said there were a lot of trickle down effects including social consequences for the families of both the perpetrators and victims.
“When you have 41 persons who have been murdered you also have 41 perpetrators, you also have 41 families that have been impacted,” she said.
The advisor said following a recent profile of the prison population it was revealed that many of the young men up there have several children under the age of 10.
Adding that sometimes the perpetrators of violent crimes or their victims were breadwinners for their families, Willoughby pointed out that over 98 per cent of them were men between the ages 20 and 29, who “should be contributing to the development of our country”.
“This is 2019 and we have a number of young men on remand for murder who should be in some learning institution, some workplace, somewhere adding to the value of Barbados. So it has a social impact,” she said, adding that there was also an impact on the entire country since the cost of incarceration was very high.
“So this problem is not only a criminal justice problem. This is a problem that has to be borne by Barbados. We have to look at our value systems, what we are actually communicating to our young people,” she said.
The project launched on Friday is a product of the partnership between the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit, the Barbados Family Planning Association, Screenplay Advertising and Trident Entertainment Network. The jingles will be played on the screenplay and Trident platforms.
Chief Executive Officer of Trident Entertainment Network Kimtara Clarke suggested that parents take some of the blame for the violent and criminal behaviour in the society.
She said as much as she was disappointed at the media for the kind of content children were being exposed to, the responsibility cannot be placed on the media alone.
“Too often parents provide access to cellphones, laptops, tablets and children use them for all the wrong reasons,” said the mother of three.
“I am concerned when reports and discussions arise about the level of violence in our schools, the upward trend of criminal offences being committed by our youth, and the blame game which is being placed on them. Schools, parents, churches and other community groups all have a vital role to play. The reality is that we are all responsible for the fight against crime in Barbados. We cannot be one-dimensional, but must be all encompassing in realizing greater results,” said Clarke.
Managing Director of Screenplay Shane Lewis, who pledged his support to the island’s crime fighting efforts, expressed fear that if not addressed urgently, the crime situation in Barbados could mirror that of Trinidad.
“We all know what the crime situation is like down there and I definitely don’t want to see us ever getting to that point here,” he said.
“I will do everything in my power to prevent us even getting close to that level, especially through using all the technology available to us in 2019,” added Lewis.
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