ATTORNEY GENERAL ADRIEL BRATHWAITE has been talking tough about the plague of illegal guns and drugs which now permeate this country. In his dual role as AG and Minister of Home Affairs, he intends to lead the fight to bring the situation under control. All well meaning Barbadians will line up behind him in an effort to solve this pervasive curse on the island.
The Attorney General’s plans to seize the ill-gotten gains of those suspected to be on the wrong side of the law, while highly desirable, may very well turn out to be a challenging initiative. Even after the best drafted legislation, the legal hurdles will be numerous. In a society which upholds the rights of the individual, the lawyers paid to defend these clients will have a field day in putting their case.
Mr Brathwaite’s other suggestion about instituting greater controls on boats leaving and entering our waters makes a lot of sense, and must be rigidly implemented. This is true of whether it is a fishing boat, pleasure craft or cargo vessel. We cannot look at only one type of operator or craft. Our borders are porous and every effort must be made to plug the leaks.
The Attorney General must appreciate that a number of other critical measures must be employed if successes are to be recorded in this move to stem these evil twins. Certainly, our efforts must not be narrowly focused on Barbados; otherwise we will be doomed to fail from the onset.
The movement of both illegal guns and drugs is a trans-Caribbean issue. We must be willing to work and also share information with regional police and other law enforcement agencies if we are to track the movement of people and their illegal activities. The available technology must also be effectively used to monitor and keep ahead of the criminals, who are most certainly using it. It is obvious that Barbados will have to ramp up its intelligence gathering capabilities. At the same time, Barbados and all other countries belonging to the Regional Security System, which is based in Bridgetown, must give greater support to this agency.
Yes, checkpoints and felony charges are two of the methods to be considered in tracking the flow of illegal firearms and drugs to improve Barbados’ safety. But the Attorney General must also look at a multi-pronged approach.
This may mean working with gang members and offering them assistance to change their lives through meaningful projects. It will also require the creation of sustainable jobs particularly for our youth.
In the effort to dismantle criminal enterprises, the goal must be to ensure that even those arrested and their beneficiaries cannot continue running their network of illegal operations. They must not be allowed to continue to function and thrive even after conviction and imprisonment. The law must be harsh on the entire criminal network.