Report: Lack of social support may foster crime

Inadequate social support services in Barbados may push some individuals towards criminal activity, particularly young men facing poverty, unemployment, and limited access to education and housing.

This was one of the findings of the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Commission on Crime, which has warned that when welfare, probation, and education systems are unable to meet people’s needs, criminality becomes a more viable and attractive option.

“There will be times when the State needs to step in and lend assistance,” said Commission Chair Verla De Peiza in an interview with Barbados TODAY.

“If it doesn’t have the capacity to do that, then people will fall through the cracks and criminality becomes a more attractive option.”

The 12-member commission conducted surveys, focus groups, and street-level interviews to compile its report, Blueprint to Rescue a Nation, which includes several legislative, institutional and social recommendations to address crime and its root causes.

De Peiza said the commission consistently heard from departments across the public sector that they were severely understaffed and under-resourced.

Among the agencies flagged were The Barbados Police Service, the prison service, the Welfare Department, the Probation Department, and the housing corporation.

She stressed the importance of a strong social safety net, cautioning that while long-term dependency should not be encouraged, the State must be prepared to intervene when people are at risk of falling through the cracks.

“The social safety net is important, especially in a society as small as Barbados,” De Peiza said.

“You don’t want to keep people dependent on the State, but you have to recognise there will be times when the State does need to step in and lend assistance.”

University of the West Indies Professor Dwayne Devonish, who specialises in management and organisational behaviour, admitted while he was yet to review the report, the breakdown of support systems creates two pathways to criminal activity—survival and psychological distress.

“It is true that when social support systems are failing or start to break down… desperation sets in,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“Imagine, your rent is due, children are hungry, there’s no help in sight, certain categories of people are likely to turn to criminal activities especially those of the acquisitive nature like theft, burglary or fraud and this is usually as a function of desperation.”

He added that the situation is especially serious for young men who feel let down by the school system and excluded from economic opportunities.

“They feel neglected, angry, invisible and some eventually turn to gangs, drugs or other criminal behaviour,” he said, referencing research he has done in the past.

Devonish warned that the public should not underestimate the link between social neglect and criminal behaviour.

“People used to say crime doesn’t pay, but crime does pay for many categories of people,” he said.

The commission has recommended the government prioritise social intervention and provide more structured support for those on the margins.

Such support includes improved access to life skills and technical training, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, and better funding for public agencies that serve vulnerable communities.

De Peiza stressed that any meaningful approach to crime prevention must be backed by policy and legislation, not short-term programmes. (SM)