By Anesta Henry

Former parliamentarian Hamilton Lashley is calling on CARICOM leaders to engage in dialogue with alleged gang leaders to negotiate measures to end the spate of crime and violence wreaking havoc across the region.
Saying he was prepared for the tongue-lashing he could face from taking such a stance, Lashley argued that St Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre’s announcement on the weekend that he has asked the Regional Security System (RSS) for help in response to deadly gun violence in Vieux Fort is evident that crime and gun violence are at crisis levels in the region.
“It is at crisis levels without a shadow of a doubt,” Lashley said. “The murder rate in the region is too high. They have kept the secret of youth violence in the Caribbean for too long. St Kitts has its problems, Trinidad has its problems and the recent truce in Barbados seems to be working.”
At the conclusion of the 44th Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas, Chairman of CARICOM Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, announced that Trinidad and Tobago will host the high-level multi-stakeholder meeting next month to address crime, particularly violent crime as a public health concern.
Davis was speaking at the opening of the 44th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, in the Bahamas, last month.
However, Lashley insisted that while the meeting in Trinidad will be necessary, he strongly believes that holistic intervention policies and practices are needed “to harmonise the situation and bring back the countries being impacted to a level of accepted normalcy”.
“But CARICOM leaders have to engage the youth including the men that are running the blocks. Any CARICOM Heads of Government meeting to discuss crime and violence among the youth that does not involve the youth, will not solve the problem and will just be another talk shop.
“It is about young people. How could you have a conference about the youth, but don’t include the youth. Or maybe they should have a youth meeting so that the outcomes from that youth meeting could feed into the larger meeting. This has to be a priority on CARICOM’s agenda,” Lashley said.
Prime Minister Pierre announced that the help from the RSS and 24-hour police patrols are among the measures being used to respond to the deadly violence in Vieux Fort where seven people have succumbed to gunshot injuries since last Thursday.
Lashley has also suggested that in order to put a temporary halt to the deadly violence in their countries, St Lucia, Trinidad, Jamaica and other territories fighting against crime, should consider adopting the truce approach initiated in Barbados by former Chapman Lane, St Michael block leader Winston Iston Bull Branch last month.
He said a reduction in reported gang-related violence across Barbados is proof that Branch’s move to call a meeting between warring gangs has been working so far.
“If it can happen in Barbados let us replicate it across the Caribbean and see what happens, even if it is a temporary solution. I still feel that the leaders in Barbados that signed the truce should hold a special conference so that they could also make recommendations to the regional heads of government meeting or CARICOM leaders meeting.
“You need the block leaders’ input so that you can have a holistic intervention programme. Right now, they should be holding subsidiary meetings at the regional level with the youth so that the CARICOM leaders have all the necessary information as to what is happening on the ground,” he said.
Lashley recommended that the Minister of State with the responsibility for Crime Prevention should also be included in any stakeholder meeting being held at the regional level to discuss crime.
“The top down approach only will not work in this instance. The bottom up approach is also necessary. You can’t leave out anybody. This thing is getting real dread. The government in St Lucia like they don’t know what to do. The government in Haiti like they don’t know what to do either. We are the Caribbean, this violence can have an impact on our tourism product.”
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

The post Include crime leaders in regional discussions to broker end to violence – Lashley appeared first on Barbados Today.

SVG PM GONSALVES SAYS MANY HAVE CHOSEN LIFE OF CRIME; SUPPORTS DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERERS

By Jenique Belgrave

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is making his stance clear on the controversial topic of the death penalty.
“For crimes of murder, other than a crime of passion, you should get the death penalty,” he said.
“I know the Europeans don’t like that. They had it for a long time, and they may not want to give aid if you bring it back, but I am satisfied, being a legal practitioner for many years, that most of the people who do killings are cowards. Never mind this macho thing which they may present. They are absolute cowards and we should have that as a particular option in the punishment schedule and for the courts not to make it very well nigh impossible to carry out the death penalty,” he said, while accusing many judges, and magistrates of being “too soft”.
Earlier in his presentation to those gathered at the Trinidad Hyatt Regency for the ‘Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue’ Regional Symposium, Gonsalves urged persons to stop blaming a person’s circumstances for a decision to perform a criminal act.
“Most of them have overwhelmingly chosen the life of crime. Let us not get away from that. They have chosen to be murderers, they have chosen to kill and they do so, by and large, because they want to make some easy money. They are involved in drugs. Some of them in order for them to maintain ranks in the community, they get a fascination with guns. They associate with beautiful young women who are high maintenance and they have to rob and steal and kill and deal with drugs in order to maintain them. Everybody here knows what I’m talking about is the absolute truth. Everybody knows it and we have to speak these things very honestly and straightforwardly. These young males who commit these violent crimes, they’re cowards, they are greedy, and they’re in a permanent condition of dissatisfaction,” he said.
Gonsalves pointed out that there are many young males from poor homes involved in positive community activities. It comes down to choice, he said.
The PM also advised churches to stop using scare tactics in trying to encourage the youth to stay on the narrow path, insisting they “preach better” to gain this group’s attention.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post Cowardly criminals appeared first on Barbados Today.

CARICOM countries want US to help in gun fight as region helps in war on drugs

By Jenique Belgrave

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states must lobby the United States to assist them in clamping down on illegal guns.
Calling on his regional counterparts to lend their voices to this cause, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said CARICOM countries can no longer afford to pour limited resources into helping the US fight illegal drug trafficking without reciprocal assistance in its own battle against the proliferation of firearms.
“My position is that we must, as a collective group, agree that greater resources must be placed into our police forces, into our ability to gather intelligence and interdict and prosecute, but we must also consolidate our efforts to lobby particularly the United States to assist us,” he said, while addressing Monday’s morning session of the Regional Symposium on Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue at the Hyatt Regency in Trinidad and Tobago.
“As we have assisted them in the war on drugs, they must assist us in the war on guns. It is the greatest unfairness that we have diverted resources from other areas in which we could have spent it to fund and support a war on drugs. By the way, the two things are related but there seems to be no real interest in stopping the other part of the trade which is the guns.”
Holness made the comments as several CARICOM states take the region’s fight against gun violence directly to US arms manufacturers with a US$10 billion lawsuit.
Among those nations is The Bahamas whose Prime Minister Philip Davis expressed serious concerns about the proliferation of guns flowing into his country from the US.
Pointing to a case in which one individual bought 46 guns in the US and nine of them were used to commit crimes in The Bahamas, he said that even though this was reported to American authorities that person was not arrested.
“I’ve been telling the United States that I am not going to get involved in their definition of their right to bear arms but it cannot mean for us in the region that right to bear arms also gives the right to traffic in those arms,” said Davis who is also CARICOM chairman.
He noted that every gun used to commit a crime in the Caribbean is smuggled and many of them originate in the US.
“In the Bahamas, 98.6 per cent of all recovered illegal firearms can be traced directly to the United States. In Haiti, 87.7 per cent of all recovered firearms can be traced likewise. In Jamaica, it amounts to 67 per cent and here in Trinidad, 52 per cent.
“We have asked the US government and US-based gun manufacturers to cooperate with CARICOM member states when it comes to identifying weapons purchased in the US as a part of a wider effort to hold weapons dealers and manufacturers and traffickers accountable for the many lives lost to gun violence each year. We must call on our neighbours to the north to better police the trafficking of guns from the US to the Caribbean,” he said.
“Last month, The Bahamas, along with Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico, working along with the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Human Security, jointly filed a brief in the United States Court of Appeal in support of US$10 billion lawsuit to hold US gun manufacturers liable for the destruction [caused by] American-made guns, in our country. It was an action initiated by the Mexican government. We intend to challenge the laws that previously protected gun manufacturers from lawsuits. We’re sending a clear message to the world that we are very serious about fighting gun violence in all forms,” Davis added.
During the session, the Commissioners of Police for Jamaica, The Bahamas, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago pointed out that gun-related violence is taking up the majority of their resources.
They said gun traffickers were becoming more inventive, often smuggling arms through ports in everyday items such as boxes of cornflakes and juices and electrical equipment.
The police chiefs noted that with more high-powered rifles making their way onto the streets, cutting off the supply of these weapons is critical.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post ‘Return the favour’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

The Barbados Police Service says the two teen girls who were reported missing last month are now in police custody.

On April 27, police issued two bulletins seeking the public’s assistance in locating two 14-year-old girls – Tanik Jemmott, and Ranika Zayla Husbands.

Jemmott, a third-form student of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School left home on Tuesday, April 11, and Husbands, a second-form student at the Ellerslie Secondary School, was last seen on Thursday, April 13 by her mother Kimberly St Louis.

In spite of  pleas by their mothers, the two teens did not return home and were seen in videos being circulated on social media.

This prompted Inspector Stephen Griffith to issue a caution to members of the public that it was a serious offence to harbour the young girls.

Griffith thanked the members of the public and media for their assistance.

The post Missing teens in police custody appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding an unnatural death which occurred about 6:05 p.m. on Saturday 17th June, 2023, along Greenidges Road, St Lucy.

This occurred as a result of a collision involving a bicyclist and a motor vehicle whilst they were both traveling along Greenidges Road.

The bicyclist was transported from the scene by ambulance but was later pronounced dead on arrival at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The deceased has been identified as Peterson Griffith, 57 years, of North Thumberland, St Lucy.

Investigations are continuing.

The post Road traffic fatality appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating a case of theft, which occurred at about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday June 17th, 2023, at a fast food establishment located at Upper Collymore Rock, St Michael.

One man jumped over the counter and snatched the cashier till as the cashier opened the cash register. He then ran away with the cash.

No one was physically hurt as a result of the incident. Police are investigating.

The post Police investigate burglary appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police from District a Police Station responded to a report of a robbery which occurred about 10:49 p.m. on Saturday, 17th June, 2023.

Two females who were selling bread from a bread shop located near the Norman Niles roundabout, St Michael reported they were robbed of their money by two armed men, who then escaped.

Investigations are continuing.

The post Police investigate aggravated robbery appeared first on Barbados Today.

A shooting incident was reported to the Holetown Police station about 10:50 p.m. on Saturday 24th June 2023.

The nature of the report stated that the owner and an employee of a Chinese restaurant and bar located along Road View, St. Peter, had just closed up the business establishment and were about to leave when they were attacked by two armed gunmen.

Shots were fired, and the owner fled, but the employee received injuries, which proved to be fatal.

Ambulance was summoned to the scene and on arrival, the EMT checked the injured man and found no sign of life. The victim was later pronounced dead at the scene by a medical doctor who visited the scene.

Investigations thus far reveal that the deceased in this matter is a national of Peru. He is 29 years of age. The police are awaiting formal notification of his immediate family and relatives before his identity can be released.

Investigations are currently ongoing.

The post One dead in St. Peter shooting appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police have identified the man fatally shot at Superlative, St George on Thursday night.

He is 49-year-old Marcus Gill of Britton’s Hill, St Michael.

According to police, two other men were shot during the incident that was reported by an anonymous caller around 7 p.m.

The two victims were taken to the hospital for medical treatment by private transport.

Police said one man received emergency surgery and the other emergency care.

Lawmen are appealing to anyone who witnessed or has any knowledge about the incident, to contact the District ‘B’ Boarded Hall Police Station at 437 4311, Police Emergency at 211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477.

The post Update: Police identify victim fatally shot at Superlative, St George Thursday night appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police confirm that a person of interest is assisting with investigations into violent attacks against several members of the homeless community that occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Communications and Public Affairs Officer Inspector Rodney Inniss said that the Police Service received a report about 3 o’clock that a number of young people threw stones and other missiles at several homeless persons who were in Freedom Square in The City.

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) has also reported that it received complaints from several of its clients that there was a “brutal organized attack on them whilst in Independence Square, Heroes Square, Bay Street, Freedom Park, and the Treasury Building.”

BAEH President Kemar Saffrey in a statement said: “Several of our clients were seriously beaten, with one client’s injuries resulting in memory loss; another [was] stabbed; a female client was slapped in the face and several other clients received burst heads and [injuries] to their bodies.” He added that the victims were between 30 and 82 years old.

Saffrey strongly condemned the attacks and said the BAEH was working with the Barbados Police Service to bring “these hooligans to justice.”

“The BAEH wishes to remind the public that the homeless are human beings, and despite their situation must be treated as such. Violence against the homeless and vulnerable must not be tolerated, and we are therefore calling for the full weight of the law.”

The BAEH is also pleading with businesses located in the areas where the attacks occurred to share security camera footage with police to help bring the perpetrators to justice.

The post Police investigate violent attacks against homeless people in The City appeared first on Barbados Today.

The Barbados Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance to identify and locate a person of interest in the attached photo.

The person is wanted for questioning in connection with a criminal matter.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Central Police Station at 430-7676, Crime Stoppers at 1 800-TIPS (8477) or Police Emergency at 211.

Members of the public are also reminded that it is a serious offence to harbour or assist wanted persons. Any person caught committing this offence can be prosecuted.

The post Police seeking to identify person of interest appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are continuing investigations into a fatal shooting that occurred early this morning in Dover, Christ Church.

Officers at the Hastings/Worthing Police Station said they received a report from a caller around 2:30 that a man had been shot and killed in the area of the Dover Kiosks, near the beach at Dover.

A medical doctor pronounced death at the scene.

Police are appealing to the public to help identify the victim. They are asking anyone who may be able to do so to contact personnel at the Hastings/Worthing Police Station.

They are also asking anyone who may have witnessed or have any information about the circumstances surrounding the incident to contact the Hastings/Worthing Police Station at 430-7615, 430-7614, police emergency at 211 or any other police station.

The post Man fatally shot in Dover, Christ Church appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police have identified the man fatally shot in the area of the Dover Kiosks, near the beach at Dover, Christ Church on Thursday. He is Ron Shane Hackett, 38 of Bath Land, St John.

Police are continuing investigations.

The post Update: Police identify shooting victim appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating a stabbing incident in Cheshire, St John on Thursday night, in which 58-year-old Henry Leroy Greaves was killed.

Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Blackman-Alleyne told reporters on the scene that lawmen at the District ‘C’ Police Station received a call about a stabbing around 7:50 p.m.

A subsequent statement issued by the Barbados Police Service indicated that two men were in a dispute which led to a physical altercation, resulting in Greaves receiving injuries about his body. He died at the scene.

Police said another man was assisting them in their investigations.

The post Man fatally stabbed in St John appeared first on Barbados Today.

High Court judge Madam Justice Pamela Beckles warned on Thursday that people who have sex with minors will face harsh punishment once convicted.

“Sexual assaults upon young children must be severely punished, and those who engage in this evil conduct must go to prison for a long period of time, not only to punish them but also in an endeavour to deter others who might have similar inclinations,” she said as she imposed a 15-year starting sentence on child rapist Shawn Akeem Rodney Daniel, of Airy Hill, St Joseph.

“This court must serve notice upon such offenders that heavy custodial sentences will be imposed in these circumstances and that the courts will play their proper role in protecting young people from sexual attacks by adults.

“Even if the children are willing participants, they must be protected from sexual conduct because the law deems persons of that age unable to give informed consent; therefore, consent can never be a mitigating factor or defence,” the judge added.

Rodney had admitted in the No. 5 Supreme Court that he, along with two other persons, had sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl between May 18 and 19, 2014.

“You stated to the court that you did not rape the complainant or ‘nothing so’, that you were talking on Facebook and you told her that you wanted sex, and she was like ‘okay’, ’cause she knew me fuh a time . . . . We didn’t have sex more than once’.

“This is disgusting and unacceptable. You were 21 years old at the time, and the complainant was only 12 years old . . . . You were therefore mature enough to appreciate the consequences of your actions.

“You have asked for a non-custodial sentence or to be placed at Verdun House; however, I cannot accede to your request. You also informed the court that you are the father of a nine-year-old daughter. I’m sure that you would not want her to be subjected to this type of sexual conduct which you exposed the complainant to,” Justice Beckles said.

The 15-year prison sentence she started with was adjusted downward by three years, given the mitigating factors that included Daniel’s guilty plea which resulted in, among other things, sparing the complainant from having to relive the experience by giving evidence in court; his cooperation with police during investigations; his expression of remorse; and the nine-year delay in the matter being heard before the court.

A significant aggravating factor regarding Daniel as an offender was that he had a previous conviction for a sexual offence, buggery, against a female.

The aggravating features of the crime, the judge told Daniel, were the nature and gravity of statutory rape and the prevalence of the offence in society; the number of offenders engaged in the act; and that the victim was “subjected to further sexual indignities or perversion by you pertaining to [two] other persons”.

She also pointed out that Daniel had exposed the victim to the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases and/or unwanted pregnancy, as well as breached her trust, as he befriended her on Facebook. The disparity in the ages of Daniel and his victim, and the fact that there was some level of planning involved in the offence as it was not spontaneous, were also taken into consideration.

“There are no mitigating factors to the offence . . .  but to say that no physical force was used or threats were made during the commission of the offence,” the judge added.

Of the remaining 12-year sentence, Daniel was given a one-third discount for his guilty plea and credit was given for the 798 days he had already spent on remand, leaving him with 2 122 days, or five years and 297 days, to serve in jail.

“During your period of incarceration, you are ordered to enrol in any skills training, vocational or educational programmes offered by the prison which may be of assistance to you upon your release,” Justice Beckles added.

Daniel was represented by attorney-at-law Marlon Gordon and State Counsel Tito Holder was the prosecutor.

fernellawedderburn@barbadostoday.bb

The post Judge serves notice of harsh punishment for statutory rape offenders as she jails child rapist appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating a shooting incident in St Paul’s Avenue, Bayville, St Michael over the weekend, which resulted in one man being shot in his back and groin, and another sustaining injuries to his right arm and right knee.

Communications and Public Affairs Officer with the Barbados Police Service, Inspector Rodney Inniss said the incident occurred around 9 p.m. on Saturday in the area of Tonkie’s Sports Bar.

He said in a statement on Monday morning that according to reports, a motor car pulled up and two armed men jumped out and started shooting.

“Several persons from the area informed the police that two men had been shot and that they ran from the area. One male in his early 50s from Bayland, St Michael returned to the scene. He reported that he had received gunshot injuries to his back and groin whilst seated in a chair in the area opposite the sports bar,” Inniss said.

“This male was transported by ambulance personnel to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The second victim, also a male in his early 20s, of Bayville, St Michael, received injuries to his right arm and his right knee. He was transported to the QEH by private motorcar.” (BT)

The post Two injured in Bayville shooting incident appeared first on Barbados Today.

Prison authorities have completed their probe into the recent escape of a murder-accused inmate from Dodds.

A report on the findings is now in the hands of Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams.

Tyreke Delandre Benskin, 21, broke out of the St Philip penal institution last month but his bid for freedom was short-lived. Several hours after his escape, he was held by police on patrol on Yorkshire Road, Christ Church.

Benskin has been on remand for the past three and a half years, accused of the stabbing death of 22-year-old Shakeem Holder on February 2, 2020. (EJ)

The post Prison break probe complete appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating a shooting incident it The Ivy, St Michael last night in which a man in his late 20s was injured.

According to police, the incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. A statement from the Barbados Police Service indicated that Operations Control received a report from an anonymous caller stating that a man had been shot in the area of 4th Avenue, The Ivy.

Police responded and on arrival, learnt that a male in his late 20s received injury to his left thigh while he was at a shop in the area. He was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in a private motor car.

Investigations are continuing into this matter and anyone who can provide any information that can assist with these investigations is asked to contact the Criminal Investigation Department (District ‘A’ Police Station) at 430-7170 or 430-7242, Police Emergency 211, Crime Stoppers at 1800-TIPS (8477) or the nearest Police Station.

The post Man shot at shop in The Ivy appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating a break-in at the Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School which occurred over the weekend.

The Ministry of Education, Technology and Vocational Training said it was informed of the incident at the Government Hill, St Michael school on Monday morning.

It said police reported that doors were kicked in and locks broken.

“In the interim, the affected classes have been integrated into nearby locations. Repairs are due to be conducted on the doors and locks today, and regular classes are due to resume on Tuesday,” the Ministry said.

The post Break-in at Charles F. Broome Memorial School appeared first on Barbados Today.

Police are investigating the unnatural death of Gabriel Alleyne, 55, of Waterhall Land, Eagle Hall, St Michael. His body was found at his house this morning.

Lawmen reported that around 7:15 a.m., an unknown female made a report to the Black Rock Police Station that a man was found dead in his house at the said address.

Police immediately responded and found the body.

A medical doctor confirmed death at the scene and a family member identified the body.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Black Rock Police Station at 417-7500, Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers 1-800-8477 or any police station.

The scene at Waterhall Land, St Michael — Video by Haroon Greenidge

The post Police probe unnatural death appeared first on Barbados Today.