DLP Rejects Invitation to Join National Advisory Council on Citizen Security in Barbados

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has officially rejected Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s invitation to join the newly established National Advisory Council on Citizen Security.

In a public briefing held on Saturday at the opposition leader’s offices on Hincks Street, Ralph Thorne and the party’s spokesperson on Home Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office, Verla De Peiza, cited concerns about the council’s lack of critical security figures and criticised the government’s emphasis on vehicle tinting regulations rather than violent crime.

The decision comes as Barbados grapples with a rise in violent crime, prompting the government to create a council to address national security issues. However, the DLP’s leadership expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the council and pointed to the absence of key stakeholders, such as the Commissioner of Police and the head of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF), whose expertise they argue is crucial for the task at hand.

Thorne explained that after consulting with the DLP’s Executive Council, the party decided to decline the invitation. The primary concern was the absence of critical voices needed to effectively address national security issues.

“On matters of security, apparently the Commissioner of Police will not be present. The head of the BDF will not be present. Several of the government’s social agencies, certainly the Probation Department, will not be present,” he pointed out.

“So, while we are not questioning the competencies of those who sit on the council, we are questioning the conspicuous absences of critical persons whose jobs bring them into contact with the question of national and citizen security.”

The opposition leader was also critical of the government’s focus during its recent press conference, where much of the discussion centred on vehicle tinting regulations rather than violent crime.

“A lot of people came away from [the Prime Minister’s] press conference on Thursday disappointed that they did not hear the government speak as to the crisis of violent crime in Barbados. Everybody has come away discussing tint,” Thorne said, adding that the focus on tint had overshadowed the real issue at hand.

He further criticised the Prime Minister for overstepping her authority by threatening to impose fines for excessive vehicle tinting, arguing that she had no legal standing to do so. “The Prime Minister has no business dealing with the Road Traffic Act… She does not have that power,” Thorne asserted. “I want to give Barbadians the assurance that it will not happen. It cannot happen.”