Social media’s influence on crime must be studied, says CJRPU head

Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU), Cheryl Willoughby, says research is needed into the role social media may be playing in rising criminal activity among young people in Barbados.

She was speaking during a poster handover ceremony for the winners of a Crime Awareness Month. Collecting winning posters on behalf of their schools were teachers Barry Tudor from Deighton Griffith Secondary, Chakiya Chase from St Jude’s Primary, Renee Parris from St Martins Mangrove Primary, and Natalie Mason from St Catherine’s Primary.

The competition, held last November for students aged eight to 16, aimed to empower young people to advocate for violence prevention in schools.

Willoughby expressed concern that online platforms could be influencing young people’s behaviour in ways that contribute to criminality.

“…We have to decipher that and how best we are going to respond, not only as a department, but as a society; we have to work together…. Last year, we would have had 49 murders… we were projecting that Barbados would have had over 60 murders, but thank God, we were in the lower level of the projection. So, I’m hoping that this year we don’t have 49 murders again, but again, it calls for intervention from all Barbadians to be involved in the process,” she said.

Willoughby urged parents, wards, family members and the wider society to “intervene” in the lives of young people who might be going astray and in need of guidance and support.

She shared that the department offered engagement sessions to primary and secondary schools across the island, in an effort to raise awareness and receive feedback surrounding criminogenic issues. These sessions assist children with strategies and tools to combat issues such as bullying, conflict resolution, peer pressure, drug use and abuse, and poor decision making.

Schools interested in having the CJRPU conduct sessions may email Willoughby at cheryl.willoughby@barbados.gov.bb.

(BGIS/BT)