Crime prevention minister concerned about surge in school violence

Minister responsible for crime prevention Corey Lane has voiced deep concern over the recent rise in violent incidents within schools. 

Speaking at his Wildey office on Tuesday, he acknowledged the worrying trend and outlined his ministry’s ongoing efforts to support the Ministry of Education in addressing the issue.

Lane emphasised the importance of preventive measures: “I think everybody is concerned with just one incident of violence, I am concerned [too, but the number of incidents] doesn’t have to be high for me…. I think that these are deep-rooted issues that we have to continue to work on, regardless of if there are spikes or not.”

The Minister in the Office of the Attorney General with responsibility for crime prevention stressed that the focus should remain on preventive strategies rather than reactive ones, adding: “We have to remain focused and continue to press and have initiatives to prevent in the first place and not treat. Prevention is better than cure.”

The start of the current school term has seen several reported incidents of violence, including stabbings at secondary schools and a primary school student brandishing a knife. In response, the National Peace Programme is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to roll out initiatives aimed at curbing violence.

“We’ve always been working with the Ministry of Education,” Lane said.  “A government, all the ministries work in synergy. As the Prime Minister has said from day one, we are in this together.” 

He cited the Critically Understanding and Rehabilitating Behaviour (CURB) programme, describing it as a key initiative that functions as a “clearing house” for addressing deviant behaviour.

“A lot of young people get in trouble as they reach that 16 to 25 age range; a number of teachers have indicated that we would have seen this down the road,” Lane said. 

He contended that Barbados has a strong track record of identifying issues early on, but that the goal is now to provide appropriate interventions in partnership with various ministries, including Youth, People Empowerment, and Culture.

Lane also highlighted his ministry’s role in supporting the national crime prevention programme through collaboration with the Barbados Police Service, acknowledging their efforts in tackling crime. 

“We continue to give them our support where we can, we continue to make recommendations where we see areas that need improvement, and we continue to commend them when they continue to do the outstanding work that we’ve seen from them,” he said.

The minister further disclosed plans to launch the Live Wise campaign, a series of initiatives aimed at raising awareness and promoting behavioural change through education. The campaign will target at-risk youth, parents, teachers, churches, and the media as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce violence and crime.

“So we have a number of initiatives coming out… to educate in order to bring about behavioural change,” he added. (SZB)