Barbados Addresses Escalating Crime Wave: Insights from National Leaders and Private Sector

While Barbadians are scratching their heads trying to uncover the reason behind the spate of shootings and murders the island has experienced in the past three months, the effects of what could easily be described as a crisis, are showing up in other ways.

Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has announced his national commission on crime which will be headed by attorney-at-law Verla DePeiza; Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley requested all Barbadians to stop everything for a national pause for prayer; Attorney General Dale Marshall has announced another amendment to the Bail Act to make it harder for murder accused and those charged with gun crimes to get bail, while the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) chairwoman and business executive Trisha Tannis, said the private sector wants a united plan to address the issue of societal violence.

Outlining the private sector’s worry, Mrs Tannis said recently the business community “joins our voice to the national concern about the escalation of violence in Barbados, most notably gun violence and calls for an immediate reversal of this alarming developing trend”.

It is fair to assess that when such respected voices in the business community publicly articulate their alarm in such a strident way to a social issue, there is a recognition that the situation is not going in the right direction.

The BPSA’s suggestions make sense. The body wants a focus on preventative measures, that target homes, schools and churches aimed at preventing young men in particular from falling prey to criminality.

Furthermore, Tannis says the private sector wants a comprehensive understanding of what was motivating the current spate of serious crimes, as well as the development of a non-partisan rescue plan to engage the youth in a meaningful way.

The Opposition, in creating its commission on crime, has acknowledged that the issue of escalating crime is a complex one, and frankly, it has no elixir to prescribe.

“Since we concede that we don’t have the answers, we don’t have all of the answers. . . . It is important to speak to the ordinary citizens of this country. Who is feeling the effects of crime? Who is hearing the gunshots? Whose children are dying from the gunshots?” Thorne told Barbadians.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Mottley outlined a tougher approach with the planned establishment of an Organised Crime Unit within the Barbados Police Service, while the legislators move again to modify the Bail Act.