Unit proposes tougher tactics to rein in crime scourge

Top officials of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU) are urging authorities to “get tough” on crime with the use of “heavy-handed tactics” where necessary. They also want crime and violence treated as a public health and social issue, with input from the whole of society.

Criminologist and Senior Researcher Kim Ramsay said the issues surrounding gun violence were known and she believed the time had come for authorities to face them head-on while simultaneously addressing social issues through various programmes.

However, Ramsay believes a lack of resources has contributed to a delay in the implementation of some crime-fighting measures by authorities over the years. She also cited corruption and fragmented efforts as problematic to the fight especially against gun violence.

She said while some may argue that the current increase in gun violence was strictly between individuals and gangs, “at the end of the day an innocent person can lose their life so we need to tackle the problem head-on”.

“First of all, we need to stop the inflow of guns. Years ago America had something called Operation Weed and Seed. So we need to get tough, we need to clean up the streets . . .You do the patrols. Sometimes we need heavy-handed tactics,” said Ramsay.

“At the same time, in line with those heavy-handed tactics you need to be planting seeds of growth, education, beautifying communities, empowering communities, working with marginalised youth, working with at-risk youth, but they have to be working simultaneously. We have to start with cleaning up our borders. It has to be a major operation,” she said.

She also pleaded with authorities to plug the holes through which guns were coming on the island.

“Our borders and our ports need to be strengthened; where is the weak link, it has to be fixed. We know the problem exists and again, those are issues outside of the CJRPU field. Those are issues at the level of national security and they have to be addressed at that level, but we know they exist,” said Ramsay.

She was responding to a question during a virtual seminar on Wednesday, where she released the findings of a 2020/2021 Public Opinion Survey on Crime in Barbados.

The survey did not address the specific issue of gun crime, which has been a major headache for authorities in recent times, with about 30 of the 39 murders recorded so far this year being gun-related.

In the study, which had input from 1 232 residents from a cross-section of communities between October 2020 and February 2021, 37 per cent of respondents suggested an attack on social problems and 14 per cent wanted the reintroduction of the death penalty. Seven per cent believed more law enforcement would address crime and delinquency.

Among other things, the research was conducted to get a better idea of how well the public understood crime and the criminal justice system and to give policymakers and planners a better understanding of the public perception on crime prevention, fear of crime, rehabilitation and capital punishment.

Director of the CJRPU Cheryl Willoughby proposed that crime and violence be treated as a public health and social issue embracing input from the whole of society.

“Every single Barbadian must play a role in what we are doing within the criminal justice system,” said Willoughby as she urged individuals to speak out on the issue and put forward their suggestions.

“We must understand that crime is a public health issue, a social problem. Therefore, it needs a social response and a public health response. In a public health response we have to diagnose, we have to treat and if we recognise our treatment options are not working, then we go back to the drawing board and we prescribe additional measures or we change what we have been doing.

“If we are to be successful at responding to crime it has to be an entire-country effort. The same effort we would have engaged in controlling the COVID-19 virus, we have to apply the same vigour, the same interest and the same cooperation,” she explained.

Willoughby told the online forum, which formed part of the unit’s month of activities for crime awareness month, that authorities were aware of the “hotspot crime communities” and there was a need to respond to the socioeconomic needs of those communities and this too, would require the cooperation of everyone.

She said she did not believe Barbados had reached the stage for curfews or a state of emergency.

During the survey 63 per cent of respondents cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the major concern at the time while 57 per cent said unemployment was a concern for them. General crime and violence was chosen by 48 per cent of the respondents while another 43 per cent cited the high cost of living as a critical problem facing Barbados.

When it came to worrying about being a victim of a gun crime,  67 per cent of those surveyed said they were worried, while 33 per cent said they were never worried.

“There were various solutions to lowering crime and the most common response included educating persons within the society, working with young persons in the communities, tackling illegal drugs and guns, reducing the cost of living/poverty and taxes.

“Many persons spoke about the need for the country to return to godliness. There was overwhelming support for more community policing and police outposts, stricter laws and enforcing or amending existing legislation,” according to the study.

Just over half of the respondents (51 per cent) said they were very comfortable with police presence in their neighbourhood, 25 per cent said they were fairly comfortable, with only four per cent saying they were not very comfortable and three per cent not comfortable at all. Seventeen per cent said they did not know.

According to Ramsay, the Barbados police was given an overall “fair rating” by residents when it came to policing attributes such as responding quickly to calls, treating people fairly, being helpful and solving crime. (MM)