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Top cop dismisses criminologist’s claim police impeding own efforts to fight crime

by Sasha Mehter
5 min read
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By Emmanuel Joseph

An experienced criminologist has charged that the policing methods of the Barbados Police Force are obstructing efforts to fight crime plaguing the country, but Acting Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce has categorically dismissed that allegation.

Straight-talking criminologist Vernee Sobers maintained on Wednesday that the “arrogance and hardness” of law enforcers in dealing with people, especially at-risk youth, had resulted in an increasing disregard for authority and law and order. 

Sobers, who is also a sociologist and former lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, argued that many people, youngsters, in particular, had become resentful as a result of their interactions with police officers who they say can “cuss them” with impunity while civilians are charged for behaving similarly.

“People have a problem with authority, with the Barbados Police Service and with the Barbados Defence Force officers, because they do not come with compassion or empathy, they come with arrogance and hardness, and if . . . you continue to go to people with arrogance and hardness, that’s what you are going to get back,” the volunteer counsellor at the Barbados Prison Service at Dodds said in an extensive interview with Barbados TODAY. 

Criminologist Vernee Sobers

The forensic psychologist who has been in the field for the past 11 years insisted that respect is returned when it is given and that people were responding to law enforcement officers based on the way they were being treated.

She said officers stationed at various outposts across the island had also demonstrated a lack of respect for residents, further contributing to a breakdown in the relationship between police and members of the community.

“They wanted to focus on community policing for quite some time, but yet still the police that you are putting in the community don’t care anything about anybody. The police in the community still cussing the people in the community, they carrying on the boys on the block scruffy, the ones that trying to make an honest dollar by selling juices and fruits, and so on, they jacking them up for these little things,” said the volunteer counsellor with the Barbados Prison Service.

“So, it’s almost like if they are waiting… they are baiting them and berating them, saying ‘man, I waiting for you to tell me something yuh know, so I could put handcuffs on you’. That is exactly how it feels. So there is not going to be any respect for law and order if this keeps happening. I have explained this to police officers I have come into contact with on more than one occasion.”

Despite her criticism of the behaviour of some police officers, Sobers stressed that “failed parents”, absentee fathers, greedy lawyers, a “failed” criminal justice system, an “unfair” educational system, a prison “that is not rehabilitative”, and adults who set bad examples for the youth also contributed to crime and violence.  

She insisted that if the root causes of crime were not addressed, the cycle would continue, resulting in a continued surge in lawlessness.

In a response to Sobers’ charges, Boyce defended the conduct of his officers in dealing with members of the public.                                                                                           

 “I cannot agree that we are in any way contributing to crime through our policing methods. Far from that, we have been very forward in shaping crime prevention and preservation of the peace responses,” the top cop told Barbados TODAY.

He insisted that Sobers’ assessment of the conduct of police did not reflect the ethos of the Barbados Police Service.   

“Our police officers are guided by a set of core values which accentuate humility and total respect for human dignity and rights. Arrogance and hardness are not part of our policing vocabulary. As a matter of fact, we teach our officers how to be fair, firm and focused while being [respectful and earning or demanding respect] in discharging their duties,” Boyce contended.

He said officers engage members of the public at all levels and recognise the need to build trust with younger people.  

The police chief also defended the organisation’s community outreach programmes.

“We treat to community policing as a philosophy buttressed by specific strategies aimed at reducing crime and disorder and providing a level of citizens’ comfort and safety,” he asserted.                                                                 

“We acknowledged that there
are special communities requiring creative approaches as we believe that one size does not fit all. Our community thrust has been predicated on engagement and on fair law enforcement. It is multi-sectoral in nature bringing together families, the church, government, the third sector, the
private sector and NGOs to rehabilitate communities.”

The senior law enforcement added that the local police service is a 187-year-old organisation that serves a “plural and very intelligent society”.                                                                       

Boyce assured the country that the
rank and file would remain “very”
conscious of the freedoms and rights of all, while always advancing a civil democratic society. 

He, therefore, urged residents to continue to support police efforts to arrest disorder, delinquency and crime.

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