Management and organisational behaviour expert Professor Dwayne Devonish has criticised the justice system for failing to keep pace with modern society.
He made the remarks on Monday in a keynote speech to a conference organised by the Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole, held at the Sagicor School of Business and Management at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill.
Professor Devonish acknowledged that while efforts had been made to update outdated legislation, such as the Child Justice Bill 2023, more work was needed to change organisational culture and ensure various departments were well-equipped to carry out their functions efficiently.
“A lot of what was in the [old] legislation was archaic and designed to control the masses. The new legislation reflects a more modern look; that is the right place where we are headed. The problem is that we changed the legislation but we haven’t changed the culture,” Professor Devonish said.
“Culture is something that takes even more work to change. We still have that mindset that when you go to prison that it is just for that. So our rehabilitation has not really been bearing fruit. I’m not saying that it is not working, I’m saying that we have to do a lot more to modernise our rehabilitation.”
He noted that the government was working to change the way in which it treated juvenile offenders. For example, he said, the Barbados Police Service should set up a juvenile detention system that was separate from that for adults.
“The other problem that is appended to that is the fact that rehabilitation has been grossly under-resourced, even our reintegration [system] is only run by a few people. So you can imagine the challenges that would emanate from such,” he said.
Professor Devonish chided the Probation Department and other departments in the justice system for resistance to change and the implementation of technology which he believes is necessary to improve efficiency.
“The Probation Department has to overcome its resistance to change,” he said. “A lot of the government agencies, even outside of the criminal justice system, are still enamoured with outdated and paper-based manual processes. If you are looking to modernise these systems we have to overcome that resistance to change.”
To address these issues, the management scholar proposed a “four-E” framework of employee engagement and an enabling environment. This would involve educating employees about new systems and technologies, creating an enabling environment, engaging workers and community members, and incentivising change over time. He also stressed the importance of developing and maintaining trust to ensure proper communication, participation, and cooperation.
The conference was attended by officials from various departments in the justice systems of Caribbean states, including Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Safety and Utilities of Turks and Caicos, Bridgette Newman. Acknowledging the challenges faced in the British overseas territory, such as youth crime, gang activity, and gun violence, Newman expressed openness to adopting systems from neighbouring jurisdictions to help the new probation department execute its functions smoothly.
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