Barbados is at a critical juncture where some of its youth hang in the balance, and it is more important now than ever to empower them to reach their full potential and find alternatives to crime and violence.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, Curtis Gilkes, made the point during a prayer breakfast organised by the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU) held at the Bay Street Esplanade, St Michael, recently.
He said there was great anxiety over the well-being of the youth, as studies showed the transition from primary to secondary school and from secondary to tertiary were critical times where some young people were or could be susceptible to crime and violence. This was why, he added, there needs to be increased collaboration among stakeholders to optimise resources.
“In doing so, [we can] safeguard the future of our younger and more vulnerable generations. It is evident that the collaboration between the CJRPU and the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs is essential in responding to negative behaviour within communities. This holistic approach to utilising research evidence in programme development can only result in a more strategic and targeted approach to addressing the varied social problems confronting our youth,” he said.
The prayer breakfast was conducted by the CJRPU in collaboration with the National Peace Programme (NPP). It formed one of the activities for Crime Awareness Month under the theme: From Fear To Citizen Empowerment, Safer Streets, Stronger Communities, as well as being part of the CJRPU’s 30th anniversary celebrations. In attendance were members of the judiciary, clergy, schools and non-governmental organisations.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment Mark Franklin said it was a time for Barbadians to do some soul-searching.
“Apart from everything else, we must see this as a time for soul-searching, as a time to ask: what kind of nation are we building? What kind of legacy do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren? What are the socio-economic challenges and pressures that are being experienced by our youth, especially our young, vulnerable, at-risk teenagers transitioning into adulthood, but who are doing so in broken, dysfunctional households where core social values such as love, respect and care simply do not exist?
“These are serious social issues that, if left unaddressed, can see a significant expansion in deviant behaviour throughout the island. It is out of the need to address such a situation that we can see the rationale for entities such as the CJRPU and the NPP. I applaud the existing synergy between these two entities,” he said.
CJRPU director Cheryl Willoughby said they were embarking on a mission to shed light on Barbados’ hidden crimes with a national victimisation survey in partnership with the University of the West Indies. She said official crime statistics did not give the true estimate of crime and they needed to bolster their efforts.
She also said their setting up the Barbados Crime Observatory had already produced many documents detailing the extent of crime in the nation, and allowed them to extrapolate where criminal activity was going to occur.
“That observatory will be utilised to provide our stakeholders with current relevant data so that they are able to have an understanding of the movement of crime in Barbados. It will also be utilised for us to work with our regional partners because there are regional observatories [which do things which] are quite similar to what we do here in Barbados.
“So we will be able to compare apples with apples, pears with pears, so that at the regional level we are all able to see the movement of crime as well as to utilise best practices that we or our partners across the region are developing,” she explained.
