New body tasked with offering solutions to gun violence

In the wake of a troubling rise in gun violence, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has announced the immediate establishment of a National Advisory Council on Citizen Security. 

Among the matters the Professor Velma Newton-chaired council will advise on are anti-gang legislation and a gun amnesty. 

The creation of the council, which will be tasked with providing a comprehensive approach to combatting crime and restoring stability, follows a mass shooting last Friday in Nelson Street, The City, in which three men were killed and eight others wounded by masked assailants. Two children were also shot in separate incidents.

Flanked by senior Cabinet ministers, including Attorney General Dale Marshall, Mottley described the recent shootings as a shocking spate of terrorist acts directed at vulnerable citizens, and questioned what would motivate assailants to act with such recklessness.

She praised the young man who was the target of the gunmen in the bar for turning himself into police.

Warning criminals that they cannot evade justice, she referenced a case where a suspect fled to Canada but ended up in the arms of Canadian authorities to be deported back to Barbados. 

The prime minister revealed that the National Security Council, which she chairs, convened specially on Sunday and Tuesday to address the crime issue. 

“I want to announce… that we will establish immediately a National Advisory Council on Citizen Security,” she stated. “This Council on Citizen Security is intended to be able to have the widest possible portion of the things that we must consider and do, in order to be able to ensure that Barbados does not fall down the rabbit hole that, regrettably, other countries have done down into as a result of the access to assault weapons and automatic weapons,” Mottley said.

The council will include prominent figures including Professor Newton, a University of the West Indies law faculty dean and historian, President of the Senate Reginald Farley as deputy chair, opposition spokesperson Verla DePeiza, and leaders in business, education, and religious organisations.

Mottley emphasised that the council will not only respond to government directives but will also actively engage with community groups to gather insights and recommendations. She expressed hope that this initiative would stimulate widespread interest and participation among Barbadians.

Acknowledging that no single party or institution is solely responsible for the country’s social challenges, Mottley noted that the new council will complement ongoing efforts by various institutions, including the Law Reform Commission. 

The prime minister indicated that difficult discussions would be necessary. She outlined several legislative matters for consideration by the council, including an anti-gang initiative requested by the Opposition and electronic intercept legislation sought by law enforcement agencies.

“The National Council will have to advise as well as government will have to make a decision on whether this country wants, like Australia and others, to become a gun-free society; whether even with all of that, there should be a further gun amnesty,” she said.

As the government awaits recommendations from the new anti-crime entity, Mottley warned that immediate actions could still be taken in the crime fight. 

She also expressed grave concern over children and youth involved in violent crime. 

“Children and young people is where this begins and ends,” she said. “…. We have a double concern about those between the ages of 16 and 21 who now find themselves facing charges of murder and, under our law, can face the most serious penalties known to our system.” 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

Members of National Advisory Council on Citizen Security

Chairperson

Professor Velma Newton

Deputy Chairperson 

President of the Senate Reginald Farley

Members

Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne or the DLP’s spokesperson on crime

Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association Trisha Tannis

President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce James Clarke

CEO of Goddard Enterprises Limited Anthony Ali

The Barbados Workers’ Union representative, Kamisha Benjamin

General Secretary of the CTUSAB Dennis DePeiza

Barbados Bar Association representative, Michael Lashley KC

The National Council of Parent-Teachers Association

Director of PAREDOS Cecily Clarke-Richmond

The Barbados Youth Parliament

Former Chief Information Officer Sharon Lynch

Barbados Evangelical Association representative – Reverend Winston Clarke

The Barbados Christian Council

The Barbados Muslim Association

President of the Barbados Union of Teachers Rudy Lovell

President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union Mary Redman or her representative

The Association of Public Primary School Principals

The Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools

Former Deputy Commissioner of Police Oral Reid

Director of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Security at the UWI Professor Corin Bailey