The Barbados Police Service (BPS) from reports seem to be doing the best possible in the circumstances although undermanned by more than 300 officers. The contradiction is how can the BPS be doing a good job if the force is critically undermanned especially at a time crime is on the increase. Clearly there must be a correlation whether weak or strong.
Criminal acts like murder, burglaries, traffic offences etcetera are visible to the public and shape our perception and in this case fears. It is no surprise the BPS is struggling with recruitment given the present-day hazards associated with being a police officer.
In a report last month Cheryl Willoughby, Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning confirmed what many feared – Covid 19 pandemic added another challenge to the mix. Governments including Barbados due to a lack of resources and constructive interventions, especially violent disruptions to the delivery of education to the youth – has resulted society ‘reaping’ the results. It is unfortunate Grantley Adams School had to endure a term out of school because of an environmental mishap. If Willoughby is correct Barbados just produced a number of young people susceptible to the criminal element.
The 64k question is whether the average Barbadian feels confident the leadership of the country coupled with support of the home and neighbourhoods can stem rising crime. Increasingly we are witnessing growing lawlessness in Barbados as a major shift from traditional behaviours takes root. Although a vast majority of Barbadians are law-abiding including young people – a few rotten apples is all it takes to be a destabilising force.
We have reached a critical juncture in our history and based on current trajectory the crime situation will continue to deteriorate. The BPS despite the ‘good’ job it is doing to apprehend criminals there is the reality of what an undermanned force translates to – low moral, lack of manpower to investigate matters, lack of support to court proceedings, recently the BPS was forced to change how it responds to vehicular accidents, residents of the Pine where another brazen shootout occurred a couple weeks ago near a play park lamented a lack of community policing to highlight a few.
It is no surprise there is an increasing call for the sacking of Attorney General Dale Marshall, a similar call was made for his predecessor Adriel Brathwaite. How did that work out? Switching chairs on the deck of the titanic is not the solution. We need an innovative citizen-centric plan to attempt to effectively combat rising crime. The blogmaster is not an expert just a voice born out of experience in the role. The BPS over the years have not earned sufficient trust with the public. Since August 2024 there was a slapping incident on Kadooment Day which Commissioner Richard Boyce promised to investigate and update a wary public. We have had leaks of police statements, there is the taped cellphone under the table in a witness room at a police station to identify a few examples. There was a time citizens in the neighbourhood knew the beat officer by name. The BPS has become detached from the public it is suppose to serve and protect.
It is a new year, let us take a fresh look at different strategies for enforcement and PREVENTION. There should be no excuse we lack the capacity to increase the intake of female recruits. Time is running out as we race to catch Jamaica, Trinidad and others in the region where crime has been identified and a public health issue by Heads of Governments (HOGs).
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