The news that Trinidad has overtaken Jamaica as the murder capital of the English speaking Caribbean should be a wakeup call for Barbadians. Despite several assurances from Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite and Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin – who seem persuaded by the statistics – ordinary Barbadians in the workplaces, supermarkets, bus stops and elsewhere have become very concerned that serious crime is on the rise in Barbados.

Barbadians in the majority applaud the Barbados Police force (BPF) for doing a good job to catch criminals. To echo the statistic given by the Commissioner during his most recent press conference, the BPF has a success rate of about 70% murder solve rate. The issue which the leadership of law and order in Barbados fails to grasp is that such a statistic will do little to quell the rising fear that murders and other serious crime is occurring in Barbados with ready frequency.

Of the many characteristics which differentiate Barbados from the rest; we are known to enjoy a stable social and political landscape. The one thing which can disrupt it is for crime to be perceived as being out of control. BU does not have to recount the story of the bloodbath which resulted in the hunt for Dudus Coke or the circumstances which led the Trinidad government to impose a curfew which has had to be extended.

Here is where it gets murky for the BU household and makes us question if the Attorney General, Commissioner et al take Bajans for fools. How are so many guns entering Barbados? Can the Police speak to why our borders are so easy to infiltrated by those smuggling guns into Barbados? Again the not so stupid Bajans know that where there are illegal guns to be found drugs will be also.

In order to win the battle against rising crime in Barbados, especially serious crime, we need to remove the huge number of guns in circulation and equally as important stop the flow.To be successful the Immigration and Customs Departments will have to complement what the BPF is doing or we are spinning top in mud. Additionally we have to stop the talk about cash for gold operations and shut those backroom operations down. The average Bajan knows that cash for gold is part of the problem. In the same way our government worked overtime to enact sunset legislation for CWC2007 the need to show the same urgency exist to legislate the cash for gold operation. We need to act and stop the dry talk.

Crime cannot be seen as an opportunity to spin yarns to look good for the public. We the people demand a solid action plan be drafted and the required resources made available to execute. Let us work harder to keep Barbados sweet.