Sutherland: Youth intervention needed at community level

Minister of Youth and Community Empowerment Dwight Sutherland says he is prepared to consult with the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) on implementing community programmes aimed at preventing young people from getting involved in crime.

He made the suggestion as he noted that there were 650 people under the age of 35 in jail.

“We are spending some $29 million annually for persons incarcerated,” Sutherland said today as he delivered remarks at a ceremony to award the winners of the Division of Youth Affairs’ Anti-Violence Campaign Competition and logo and slogan competition.

“We have to start at a very young age…. We can’t start at age 16 and expect to reap results. That is why the role of the Royal Barbados Police Force has to be one to engage institutions such as the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, engage non-governmental organisations and the private sector, to deal with the issue of violence and crime as a preventative plan and strategy, more so than after the fact.”

Sutherland also made reference to the recent UNICEF Generation Unlimited report which he said provided an assessment of the status of the youth, taking a close look at issues such as poverty, health, education, housing, social behaviour, access to basic needs, and involvement in crime and violence.

“It is a report that causes me to, when I go to bed, think about how we as a Ministry of Youth Sports and Community Empowerment, how we as a Government can implement policies and programmes to curb violence and deviant behaviours among our young people,” he said.

The Minister said the report pointed out that boys were underperforming in all categories in education, and a significant portion of young males were not successfully completing secondary school examinations, which would have a negative impact on their future.

“It said that by age 16, a third of young people would have engaged in sexual activities and are being engaged with drugs, which places them at a high risk for pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and juvenile delinquency. And then it goes on to say the majority of children, 68 per cent, involved in gang violence and entering the Juvenile Liaison Scheme are products of single parent households,” he said.

The positive news delivered today, though, was that 20-year-old Benjamin Springer is the winner of the Division of Youth Affairs’ logo and slogan competition which was held as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. He received a cheque for $2 000 for his winning submission.

Competitors were asked to create a logo and slogan to modernise, reenergise and reflect the mission of the Division going forward, as it seeks to address and mitigate challenges facing the island’s youth.

The winning slogan was Bridging Brighter Paths.

Springer, an Associate Degree in Visual Arts student at the Barbados Community College, added that his logo depicted “young people from all walks of life rallying around one bright and shiny goal that bridges connections between them”.

Participants of the Anti-Violence Campaign Competition, meantime, presented creative visual and performing arts pieces, which advocated for the youth to stop the violence.

Shontae Alleyne-Clarke was the winner in the performing arts category, while Brittany Jordan won the first-place prize in the visual arts category.

The winners’ submissions will be utilised by the Ministry as one of the strategies to encourage the youth to stay away from deviant behaviour, as well as targeted intervention in volatile communities to effectively reduce the level of violence in Barbados. (AH)