COMPETITION

Barbados AG: "Take comfort we're not as bad as Trinidad"

BARBADOS: Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has suggested that Barbadians can take comfort in the fact that the island’s crime situation is no where near as bad as that of neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, which has recorded over 80 murders in just two months.

“There is an acceptance and or recognition in Barbados that crimes are solved,” Brathwaite said as he made reference to a video, allegedly of an incident in the twin island republic, which has been making the rounds on social media. During the brazen attack, which occurred in broad daylight, the victim was apparently shot multiple times by two men.

“You will not see that in Barbados, and part of the reason you will not see that in Barbados is, because we solve crimes. We lock up people for breaking the law, but if you live in a country that people believe that they can with impunity break the law and take life and that there will be no consequences that’s part of the reason why in some countries you see the kind of behaviour that you see.

“But in Barbados you know that we solve 90 to 95 per cent in particular of our homicides. So people don’t get away with the most egregious offences in this country and feel that they can commit them and disappear. That does not happen in our country,” Brathwaite insisted.

Last year, a total of 30 murders were reported on the island.

Insisting there was no “runaway crime”, Brathwaite told constituents at his first branch meeting for the year at his office in Belair, St Philip that there seemed to be a misperception of the situation in the country.

“What we are really seeing is a reversion to our 2013/ 2012 levels of crime in 2015,” said Brathwaite. He further argued that while crimes involving the use of firearms, as well as property offences were up, crime on the whole in Barbados was not out of control.

“The evidence will show we have not had a runaway situation with crime . . . we have what appears to be a situation where more of our young men are willing and or have been persuaded that they can use firearms randomly,” the Attorney General contended.

He also said he had been made aware of situations where “fellas at fetes don’t mind showing off their hardware etc.

“So it concerns us, and yes, we have an issue in that regard,” added Brathwaite.

SOURCE: http://www.barbadostoday.bb