With three murders in the first 12 days of the year, Acting Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce has pledged a crackdown to curb the rising tide of violence, warning criminals that lawmen “are going to get you”.
The island’s acting top cop gave the assurance as he insisted that Barbadians must not be made to feel they cannot go about their daily business without being anxious or living in fear of crime.
Boyce told a press briefing at police headquarters that while the crime management strategies during the Yuletide and tourism seasons went well last year, the first two weeks of the year have created concern and discomfort for officers.
He said: “It has not been comforting from the perspective that 13 days into the year, we have three homicides, we have instances of robberies, we have had youth crime, and we have had some concern about the whole area of roads policing. I say roads policing because it is perhaps one of the areas we have to emphasise at this meeting.
“Three homicides — and from our preliminary investigations, they were interpersonal violence and intentional. Intentional or, as some persons would indicate, targeted homicides. The most recent one was less than about 36 hours ago at Kirtons in St Philip. The investigation of the matter is in the embryonic stage; hence, we have assembled a team . . . to do the investigations and to make sure that every area of concern is unearthed.”
Boyce added: “What I am saying to those persons who think they are strong enough and bold enough and brazen enough and brash enough to do these things, we are going to get you. We are going to get you; The Barbados Police Service is going to get you; and we are going to get you sooner [rather] than later.”
The acting commissioner contended that there is no place for such callous antisocial behaviour where gun-toting individuals are going around shooting people, especially indiscriminately.
He declared: “So, whether there are influencers who are driving people to commit certain behaviours, we are pursuing the investigation to take care of all persons who are in some way connected with the commission of the offence.”
Boyce promised that the police service would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the streets of Barbados are not taken over by criminals.
He said: “We are going to pursue those matters with the kind of robustness that is required to make sure that Barbados remains a safe place; that there are no ‘no-go areas’ in Barbados; that people don’t have to be going to a petrol station and looking around; that people don’t have to sit in an area and be anxious whenever a vehicle passes, or whenever they see an unknown. That is the thrust of the investigation, to identify and to get the perpetrators of those matters.”
The acting commissioner also addressed the heightened use of vehicles to commit serious criminal acts.
He therefore expressed the need for improvements to the police mobile operations.
“We recognise too that crime is very mobile, and that vehicles are being used in the commission of serious crime,” Boyce told reporters. “It is important that we get our road policing up to the level that we need to in order to protect not only the persons on the road, but to identify those offences, and to take the necessary action in relation to infractions or violations on the road.”
He said the visibility of mobile patrols and the strategies they use to tackle issues of concern will continue in earnest.
Acting Commissioner Boyce issued a special warning to lawless motorcyclists: “While we want to zero in on those persons who are offending on the road, we are also paying special attention to those motorcyclists, who from time to time, have been creating traumatic experiences for other users of the road. So, from a road policing perspective, we are going to be very focused on bringing back some order to the way we do things on the road.”
He also addressed what the police service considers an especially worrying development where, so far this year, some “very young” men appear to have taken up crime as an adventure or a way of life.
Boyce said while the police officers will play their part in tackling crime, every citizen must contribute to the ongoing effort to create a safer Barbados.
He advised that residents adopt a “see say” attitude to crime, where information can be shared with the police anonymously.
Boyce said: “What we need to emphasise at this exchange is that what you see, what you know, we need to know and we need your eyes. We need to ensure that every person understands their role in the fight against criminal activity. It is not only for the police to gather the evidence because we believe that is reactive. It is for us to work with you in a proactive and a preventative way, to gather the information from what you see and what you know.”
The acting commissioner therefore appealed to citizens not to hesitate to contact any police officer with information on crime or potential crime, to “enhance your safety in the community or in the public space”.
Barbados recorded 50 killings last year.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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