Fighting crime, a shared responsibility – police spokesman

It is not the duty of the Barbados Police Service (BPS) only to end the scourge of crime and violence. It’s a task for all of society, starting in the home, says Crime Prevention Specialist Inspector Stephen Griffith.

Speaking on Friday evening at the premiere of End De Violence – The Series screening put on by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment at Olympus Theatre, Sheraton Mall Christ Church, Griffith pleaded with Barbadians to play their respective roles and lead lives dedicated to anti-violence.

“It is not the police force’s responsibility only. It is an all-country responsibility. I am asked from time to time, ‘What is the police force doing about the violence’. Well, the police force did not raise your child. It starts in the home,” he suggested.

The senior police officer defended the work of the BPS saying that they collaborate with several organisations to stamp out crime but he said parents must also support their children to become law-abiding citizens.

Inspector Stephen Griffith (Right) and Screenwriter and Educator Dr Denise Charles (Left)

“We observe every single day children across the country seem to be on autopilot seemingly without parental control. What we have done in the force, is that we have the Juvenile Liaison [Scheme], the Prince’s Trust Programme and several parenting programmes and we are trying to do our best socially to explain to the adult population that the children need their support and need it badly.

“…We in the police force are trying at our end. We need a whole-country approach. We need all the organisations, we need the private sector, we need everybody on board in order to salvage and return Barbados to a level that we understand and we can do it. All of us have to join together,” he said.

The film series, written by senior education official Dr. Denise Charles speaks specifically to ending violence in all of its forms and specifically addresses five types of violence – domestic violence, psychological violence and physical, sexual and emotional violence.

The police inspector was part of a panel which also included President of the Business and Professional Women’s Club Marlene Hewitt, educator Joy Ann Inniss and psychiatrist Ronald Chase.

Griffith pleaded with the audience to take on the individual responsibility to manage their offspring.

He suggested that many children in Barbados become rebellious because of the fallout between their parents, adopting certain behaviours that eventually land them in the criminal justice system.(MR)