An unorthodox approach can reap success

Barbadians will have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes it is necessary to get your hands dirty for the sake of cleaning up a situation.

We make this assessment as eyebrows are raised over the decision of the current administration to use unconventional methods and suspect personalities from “the streets” to assist in its efforts to bring serious crime under control and dissuade vulnerable youngsters from choosing crime as a response to their circumstances.

There is no denying that Barbadians had become extremely uncomfortable with the prevalence of illegal guns and the number of crimes involving the use of firearms.

A spate of murders, reprisal shootings, and armed robberies plunged the island into a state of fear and trepidation.

In November 2022, Member of Parliament for St Michael East Trevor Prescod described the gun and murder problem as a country-wide issue and not one that was limited to any particular community.

Last year, the majority of murders took place in St Michael, followed by Christ Church and St Philip. Prescod proposed that critical talks be held to bring the bloodshed to a swift end.

Following another shooting death in his constituency, he told the media: “Like all other citizens, I am very concerned. We are all brothers and sisters across the community . . . but this is a national problem which we all face. And what is important about this, is that we have to do all that we can to see how best we can talk to young men and women across our communities about at least trying to . . . sit down and reason about these issues without having to take your brother’s life or your sister’s life.”

Obviously concerned about the upheaval the gun-toting criminals were causing, Prime Minister Mottley appointed social activist, youth advocate Corey Lane, as her new Minister with specific responsibility for the crime fight.

Operating under Attorney General Dale Marshall, Lane’s appointment was viewed with scepticism in some quarters, despite his years of work with at-risk youth in his Nature’s Fun Ranch.

In the shadows of the fight against gun and gang violence was Winston Iston Bull Branch, a Chapman Lane, City resident who had his run-ins with the law and was both feared and respected in his younger years.

Branch, at 64 years old, was sick and tired of the shootings and killings which had become a frequent occurrence. He took a bold decision to bring together more than 200 gang members in a historic truce and return relative peace and quiet to an increasingly troubled population.

Despite the success of the Branch-brokered truce orchestrated by a former criminal offender, some people are still rejecting the idea of cooperating with former convicts to achieve peace in the streets.

Lane, the Minister of State in the Attorney General’s Office, is still facing suspicion about collaboration between the state, ex-cons and gang members under the National Peace Programme.

“I would go to the mountain top and say these are the sort of people we need in the programme that can influence change of behaviour,” Lane was quoted in the media as saying. “Then there are people who would have served their time – convicted, found innocent, or even found guilty. So, what is society telling me, that they can’t come back and play a role in society? That is nonsense.”

There is merit in the minister’s comments. The relative peace that Barbadians have been enjoying since Branch brought together the warring gang members and the vigilance of the Barbados Police Service represent evidence that sometimes an unorthodox approach can reap success.

What ordinary citizens want, however, is a clear, definable wall between the “men and women of the street” and our political class.

We do not want this group to believe that simply by associating with the political leaders, they enjoy some level of power and access that can be abused.