Vigilante justice warning amid crime surge

Barbados risks a rise in vigilante justice unless the government urgently reassures citizens and takes a tougher stance on crime, an independent senator has warned, citing a climate of fear and a lack of confidence in current safety measures.

In an emotional speech on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill in the Senate on Wednesday, Dr Crystal Drakes went further, telling the Mia Mottley administration that the messaging surrounding the measure, intended to tighten restrictions on vehicle tints, makes it appear soft on crime prevention.

Acknowledging that she feels afraid in her own home, having been traumatised by a shooting incident near her residence and then witnessing someone who had been shot, Senator Drakes pleaded with the government to, at the very least, appear tough on crime.

While she supported the Bill because it was at the request of The Barbados Police Service to regulate the density of window tint on vehicles to allow officers a clear view when approaching them, the independent senator urged the government to adopt a firmer stance on future crime measures.

Senator Drakes said: “Clearly, we need a strong policy on crime prevention. I do not know what it will entail, but I am hoping that the government, in short order, speaks to this issue in forceful and meaningful ways that would allow us as citizens to feel as though something is being done to combat what is happening out on our streets.

“If we do not get this under control, this is an immediate and present danger to the fabric of our society. If this Bill has come before the house as a request from the police, by all means, facilitate it. The government has my support in that because I believe the police need the necessary measures to be protected when they go out on the street to keep us safe.”

She continued: “But at the same time, I want the government to know, the messaging around this makes the government appear soft on crime; and we cannot be soft on crime. People are shooting in broad daylight, shooting in shopping malls…it is as though people believe, within the criminal element, they are now the ones who run Barbados.”

“And we have to ask the question, how did we get here? And everybody has to answer that question…because if the amendment to the Bail Act did not act as a deterrent, the government has to ensure that any messaging and any policy measures going forward make the government, even if it is only in appearance, seem tough and strong on crime prevention.

“When citizens do not feel safe, when the average person feels as though they do not have any protection, you know what happens. Vigilante justice. You are going to see the average person start arming themselves because of the fear that they feel walking around in this country. And that is a place that we do not want to go.”

Senator Drakes said the country is faced with a situation where it is dealing with an element in society who are bold and brazen in their actions.

She suggested that they do not care who they harm, who is around, if it is somebody’s grandmother, or if children are in the line of fire.

“And the same effort that they are putting into terrorising this country, the government, at least, has to appear as though they are wrestling those individuals and the crime that they are perpetuating across this country…because anything less than that emboldens criminals. They are not taking what we are saying in here seriously, they could care less. So, the guys that are toting guns, you think they are worried about what we are discussing in here today?” 

The independent senator cautioned the administration to be careful how it communicates information regarding the fears people may feel in light of what is happening at this time.

Senator Drakes said she felt insulted by comments made by a member of the chamber during a political meeting in which the person dismissed the fears people are expressing regarding crime.

“I can tell you this. I am fearful in my own home, and I am not fearful because somebody told me to be fearful. Less than 500 metres away from my house, there was a shooting, so nobody can come and tell me not to be fearful because I experienced it. In addition to that shooting, I have been in close proximity to somebody who has been shot.

“So this is not a joke for me,” the legislator stressed. “I understand the ramifications after the person has been shot, you have to care for them. This is not a joke for families. So when people come and tell you how you should feel about a situation that you know personally, financially, emotionally, psychologically, the trauma it inflicts, it is insulting. And then every day you have to get up and hear on the news, somebody gets shot in this place, somebody gets shot in the next place. And you relive it. And you understand what that family is going through as the victim. We cannot continue in this vein. I will say this, we cannot play politics with this issue, because while we are passing the buck to and fro, the criminals are running wild in this country.” (EJ)