BACA head suggests soldiers be deployed to enhance security at events

By Shamar Blunt Organisers of fetes and other events held across Barbados, particularly during the Crop Over season, must take security more seriously before a tragedy occurs, says president of the Barbados Association of Creatives and Artists (BACA) Colin Spencer. In fact, he recommended that the armed forces be part of the needed enhanced security. He made the suggestion in an interview with Barbados TODAY on Monday, on the heels of the chaos at Saturday’s Powda fete at Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas, which was stormed by scores of people who climbed over the perimeter fence despite the presence of private security officers, some with canines, and police. Spencer argued that members of the Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Police Service officers should be included in security plans. “It certainly is a cause for concern when people storm an event, especially during live performances. Everyone in the venue is [then] at risk. I know that we as a country are very much concerned about image, but we can’t focus on image when these types of behaviour continue. We have to, especially during Crop Over, deploy the Defence Force alongside the police for an extended period, especially at events, especially at national events,” he asserted. “We must also be mindful of the fact that tourism is very important to our country, and because of social media, the images that get out and are circulated about what is happening in Barbados can harm in the long run. So it is absolutely important that this kind of behaviour is nipped in the bud.” Apart from the people who stormed the venue, multiple fights were also reported and several vendors’ stalls were damaged, including one mobile canteen which caught fire and was completely destroyed. The event, which was slated to end at 6 a.m., finished two hours earlier. Spencer stated that, in light of previous security breaches and incidents, more attention had to be paid to increasing security to safeguard the safety of both artists and patrons. “Even looking at the videos, it’s frightening, let alone people who were at the event,” he said. “We suffer in silence and we have a way of only reacting, very often, when something is completely out of hand. We need to do more than just wait around and hope the situation improves. That is not the way to go. This is not a one-off situation; we have seen this before. We need to deal with it,” Spencer insisted. shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb]]>