By Julie Carrington
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (BGIS) – Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is reminding Barbadians that although measures have been implemented to stem the crime situation, it cannot be solved overnight; pointed out that the battle required the cooperation of all citizens as she appealed to everyone to give the government and The Barbados Police Service time to deal with the crime situation on the island.
“This is a battle that is going to require the entire cooperation and effort of the majority of Barbadians, and not in a week, or a month or even a year. It is going to have to be sustained, because whether we like it or not guns don’t walk and talk on their own, do they?” Mottley continued.
“I put arrangements in place, with respect to changes both at the ministerial level and initiatives that we discussed with The [Barbados] Police Service and I will take a briefing from them as to what they have started to implement. But, they will take time to implement the measures that have only been announced two-and-a-half weeks ago. And, therefore we need the country also to recognise that this is not the battle of any one group; not the police or the government or civil society alone.”
The prime minister acknowledged that the first order of business must be to reduce the flow of guns and “start to deal with the mindset of those who believe it is ok to kill somebody”.
Prime minister Mottley, made it clear that the government would not be instructing the police on how to do their job, and stressed that Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce was in full control of the Barbados Police Service’s operations.
“…It will be a dangerous thing in this country when a prime minister or a minister in charge of the police can direct police on operational matters. On operational matters, we leave it to them. Having said that, all of us will expect the police to be fully engaged and doing their job.”
