Questioning whether yet another piece of legislation can make a dent in the island’s crime problem, Senator Reverend Canon Dr John Rogers has raised concerns about whether the Domestic Terrorism Bill will effectively target those behind serious criminal activity.
Dr Rogers described the proposed legislation as another addition to a series of measures aimed at tackling violence in Barbados, while questioning whether legislation alone can address what he described as an endemic problem in society.
“I believe those of us who have been following this society for some time now, at least in the last 30 years or so, would know that crime and violence has always been one of those things that have been on the front burner for us, because somewhere, somehow, our society just seems to have this problem.”
He contrasted the current situation with the life of the late Sir Garfield Sobers, noting that the cricket legend grew up during difficult economic and social circumstances but did not allow those challenges to lead him to harm the society that nurtured him.
“One would understand that these people fought really hard against many, many challenges, but never once sought to destroy the community that nurtured them.”
Rogers said successive administrations appeared to be relying heavily on legislation to address crime and violence, while arguing that deeper work was needed in society.
“This administration, like others, find themselves in the position where, to the layperson looking on from the outside, we’re just throwing legislation at this problem with no fault of ours; we’re just trying to fix. Every time you see a loophole, we’re just trying to do something. We’ve had the Criminal Gangs Prevention and Control Bill just recently. The society needs a lot of work.”
The senator also warned that the effectiveness of the new legislation could be undermined if Barbadians believe it will not be applied equally.
“I’m fearful that the impression out there is that it’s just another law. We know that somebody who knows somebody is going to put in a word for somebody, and then say Cudear, because that is the attitude in Barbados.”
He said such a perception could have serious consequences.
“We know only certain people will be affected by them, and we have to be careful that this is not the impression that is given out there or if we think we have problems now. If people realise that this law is passed, but somehow it has not been equally administered, if we think we have problems now. We’ll see problems after that,” he remarked.
Rogers placed particular emphasis on the provision of the bill dealing with the unlawful importation of firearms in large quantities.
“I think that this is an important part of the bill: unlawful importation of firearms in such a quantity, and the quantity isn’t stated, but we assume it’s not just a fella smuggling one gun in a barrel….This particular part of the legislation may really be looking at some of the good citizens we have in this society. The people who are at every cockfight, in every picture but somewhere behind the scenes, are the ones who are responsible for bringing large quantities of firearms into our country.”
He also questioned whether the legislation should be accompanied by measures to regulate campaign financing, arguing that greater attention should be paid to separating governance from criminal activity.
“These are some of the things, if we’re going to get serious about what is taking place in our society, these are some of the areas we need to look at, to separate the arms of governance from what is taking place in the underworld in our country.”
While making clear that he supported the legislation, Rogers said closing legislative loopholes would not by itself resolve the island’s crime problem.
“I have no problem supporting this legislation, as I said. Every loophole we find we have to try to patch but the reality is that we have an endemic problem in our society and legislation after legislation as we pass them. Who are we netting?…If we live in a country where the big ones cannot be held and cannot be caught. This legislation It’s good on paper but if we think we have problems in our society now, Do not let it be administered equally and see what will happen.”
(LG)
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