Home » Posts » Crime playing havoc on Barbadian communities

Crime playing havoc on Barbadian communities

by Randy Bennett
3 min read
A+A-
Reset

Like COVID-19, crime is also a public health problem.

That is the assessment of Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Dr. Dwayne Devonish, who said both COVID-19 and crime had similar devastating effects on communities.

“It is something that we have been touting for years, that crime is in fact a public health problem. When you look at COVID and crime you can draw some clear parallels because the kinds of impact that COVID has had on businesses, are pretty much the same for crime.

“Think about it, if we had realized that there were convincing media reports that they were COVID cases that were traced at a business, you could see that many persons would divert their attention away and perhaps move to other areas to stay away because there is this type of psychological stigma that is associated there.

“That is the same thing with crime because if someone is shot, you will find that the business would experience a reduced demand for some time,” Dr Devonish explained.

He made the comments this morning while releasing the findings of his study The Social Cost of Crime via Zoom.

He explained that the results came out of a two-part study conducted in 2018 on the social and economic impact and costs of crime.

Professor Devonish explained that crime had a multi-dimensional effect on society.

He said while some impacts were easily monetized, social impacts were less tangible, less direct and oftentimes made the monetization of the costs much more difficult.

He pointed out that the study looked at a non-monetary social cost perspective and examined the perspectives of Barbadians and their experiences and perceptions of crime and its impact on their perceived safety and security.

One thousand and fifty residents were interviewed for the study and these came from low, middle and high-income areas across the 11 parishes in Barbados.

Social sectors such as the church, police, community groups and economists were also interviewed.

Professor Devonish said the study focused on violent, personal crimes such as robbery, burglary and theft.

He said one of the main findings of the study was that Barbadians were very concerned with the level of crime on the island.

“The majority of Barbadians had a negative outlook of crime. Over 70 per cent of them indicated that the crime situation was very bad or bad,” he said.

“We actually delved further into the types of crimes that they were most concerned about and gun-related and drug-related crimes were especially touted as ones that they were perceived to be increases in by residents.”

Professor Devonish said Barbadians believed unemployment, the drug trade and the general economic environment were the main reasons behind those crimes.

Additionally, he said crime also contributed to social anxiety and worry among residents, increased pressure and burden on the health system as well as police and security services, a decrease in the overall sense of safety and the personal overall quality of life.

According to the university lecturer, while a national conversation on crime, its causes and impacts was needed to confront these issues, the time for talk had long passed and action was needed. 

You may also like

About Us

Barbados Today logos white-14

The (Barbados) Today Inc. is a privately owned, dynamic and innovative Media Production Company.

Useful Links

Get Our News

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

Barbados Today logos white-14

The (Barbados) Today Inc. is a privately owned, dynamic and innovative Media Production Company.

BT Lifestyle

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Accept Privacy Policy

-
00:00
00:00
Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00