Study being done to decide on sexual offenders registry

Government is looking into whether Barbados should have a sexual offenders registry, Attorney General Dale Marshall has disclosed.

He said two academics have been engaged to investigate the feasibility of taking that step and make recommendations to the government by yearend.

Marshall made the disclosure in the Lower House during Tuesday’s debate on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

“We’ve looked globally and we see that in the United States, the sexual offender registry is public, so everybody can go and look. In other countries, the sexual offender registry is available only to law enforcement or to institutions where children are involved – so that schools could get information from the sexual offenders registry to see if a potential member of staff is guilty of sexual offences,” he explained.

“The Cabinet of Barbados has not made a policy decision on whether or not we will establish a sexual offenders registry in Barbados. What we have done is invited an esteemed scholar from the University of the West Indies and a criminologist of tremendous respect across the entire Caribbean to do a study for us, to take all the views into account, to do research, and make a recommendation to us as to what direction could Barbados consider going in relation to sexual offenders registries.”

Marshall acknowledged that Barbadians were split on the need for or usefulness of such a registry.

“Some people believe that in our small society where everybody knows everybody else, that it is not necessary. They argue that because cases are held in public, you know the [person] that has been charged and that there is really no need for a sexual offenders registry in that way,” he noted.

“Others argue that it is true that the name of the person would be published if they are convicted, but who sits down and keeps that information in their head? Which school or primary school, who at the Ministry of Education will remember ‘that man was convicted of rape’? Nobody remembers that.

So it may be important to have a central database where limited access can be made available in special instances.”

Marshall said the report is expected to be submitted to his office before the end of December, and thereafter Cabinet will be provided with some proposals. (SB)