Like a recurring decimal crime it is one of the issues we have been unable to arrest. We scoffed at David Thompson’s 1999 political campaign slogan ‘crime and violence’, before that an Attorney General Maurice King assured a suspicious public there were no gangs in Barbados. Then there was the famous ‘me hands tied’ song made famous by lyrical master RPB referring to Commissioner of Police Orville Durant at the time. What has replaced PAREDOS? How can we forget the tinkering by the Police Services Commission by politicians? What about the moribund police Service Authority?
It has been reported Commissioner of Police (COP) Tyrone Griffith will be retiring very soon. The blogmaster shared the concerns of those who suggest a more visible COP was required in the last decade and maybe partly responsible for the predicament we find ourselves. The country is being punished with escalating violent crime with 100 murders recorded in the period 2018 to present.
Has the time come for an expat Commissioner of Police to be recruited? We have the experiences of Trinidad and Jamaica to reference. Canadians Dwayne Gibbs and Jack Ewatski were contracted in 2010 by the Trinidad government and after a brief stint were forced to tender resignations in 2012. There was Englishman Mark Shields who also served briefly in the role of deputy Commissioner of police in the Jamaica constabulary. He is remembered for his role in the mysterious death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Wolmer.
Do we have a Gary Griffith personality type available in the Bajan recruitment pool? Barbados is a small island and makes the job of finding a Gary Griffith personality very difficult given the incestuous nature of relationships. The other question is whether a Gary Griffith type personality would be given sufficient room to operate in Barbados.
We are at the crossroads.
Political leaders from both sides have made political decisions that are coming back to haunt ordinary Barbadians. It is never too late to do the right thing. However, based on the blogmaster’s walk about underground we may have crossed the point of no return. The politicians are hapless how to pull crime back because like the coronavirus it has hopped from the underworld OUR world.
Enforcement is one element on meting out justice. For chrissakes let us TRY to get this appointment right with Tyrone Griffith’s replacement. There is credit at least in making the decision based on merit and not cronyism.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.