BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Mar 7, CMC – Barbados is to conduct a national survey to measure the level of victimisation in Barbados.
Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU), Cheryl Willoughby, says the survey will also capture unreported crimes of persons who were victimised but did not report to the relevant authorities.
“It is hoped that as we commence this, that we can depend on the support of members of the public because persons will be in the communities interviewing members regarding their victimisation,” she told the the opening of a Strategic Planning Meeting: An Overview of Crime in Barbados for the Year 2024.
Willoughby said it is hoped that the authorities want an “open and honest discussion so that all the information can be captured.
“It will be used to strategically look at areas that we need to focus on, in terms of prevention and resources required to respond to the victimisation that we are going to capture,” she said, noting the importance of a collaborative effort in law enforcement and strong crime prevention initiatives to tackle crime.
“I am a strong advocate of community policing. It is no secret; it is a strategy that has worked across the world…. I believe it is a strategy that we would need to strengthen if we are to make a dent in what is happening within our vulnerable communities….
“We have residents who are not prepared to intervene in incidents of violence where young people are concerned…. Also, persons believe that some of the…problems that are causing the shootings and the crime within our communities are based on peer pressure, materialism, and an educational system that needs some measure of reform,” Willoughby said.
The CJRPU director said that some communities have been identified for immediate intervention and that her department is working closely with the National Peace Programme (NPP) in a very effective collaboration so far at implementing programmes within at-risk and high-risk communities.
She said from the 2024 data, six communities were identified as needing immediate intervention, reiterating it is important to focus on the incidence of crime and the strategies being employed collectively to respond to crime and violence within our communities.
“We’ve included our non-governmental partners(in this meeting). I believe that those persons who are the foot soldiers on the ground are just as important because they have a bird’s eye view of what is happening within the communities, and they can feed that information back to us.
“So, when we sit collaboratively, we are able to make strategic plans and decisions based on empirical evidence, not only coming from reported police statistics, but certainly from observations and from a knowledge base, where you are actually interacting with the target population. So that is important,” Willoughby stated.
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