EDITORIAL
The murder of a woman at a local ATM recently has catapulted Barbados into a state of alarm. Amidst concerns for personal safety and about the spate of violent crimes, Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, and Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, William Yearwood, have sought to reassure Barbadians that the state of affairs is not dire and that the society is still under control. Subsequent to this, several youngsters were charged yesterday for the crime in question, leading most people to accept this reassurance from the authorities. Throughout all this though, one point is clear and undeniable. There is a need for improved surveillance systems – especially closed circuit television (CCTV) – within Barbados’ urban areas. In the recent unfortunate scenario, the incident occurred just outside a bank and therefore may have been caught on that financial institution’s security monitors. However, there have been instances in the past where criminal actions were not caught on camera, which include reports of lawless defacement of sections of the City with graffiti and the wanton destruction of commercial property. There have also been daring robberies at banks and gas stations.
As is customary, the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) looks into these matters, however its burden would be greatly lightened if footage of the incidences was made available for examination, enabling law enforcement to see the actual culprits and any evidence.
Present efforts not good enough!
It may be argued that some local businesses and undoubtedly all commercial banks already have CCTVs installed on their premises. However, in many cases these are notorious for being in poor working order, with some so out of use that cobwebs can be clearly seen covering the lens.
Furthermore, the vast majority of business places still do not have security monitoring devices, relying mainly on burglar alarms, which only activate after a criminal has broken/entered your business. With the latter system, the onus is on law enforcement to arrive in time to catch the perpetrator, however, with CCTV, police officers have more information to act on. And this footage, once taken in a professional, systematic manner, can be used as evidence in a court of law.
The advantages of these types of set ups have been well noted by the RBPF and, in the past, senior members of the Force have called on the public to assist in deterring crime by using CCTV, in addition to other techniques like improving lighting.
Think outside the box
While CCTVs and other security systems are advantageous to helping fight crime, the technology today allows for different types of devices to act in a similar capacity, most notably the smartphone.
As is all too evident, anyone holding a cellular phone is capable of recording any activity that catches their attention. This has led to several criminal actions being caught on camera by amateur broadcasters. However, while it may be useful footage, one would not want to encourage members of the public to put themselves in harm’s way to confront a criminal.
Instead, homeowners and businesses, especially businesses, should realise the importance of setting up surveillance. Already some businesses have set up live cameras to record the environment in a particular location as a marketing strategy for social networks like Instagram and Facebook. These cameras, while intended to broadcast across the world, are also unseen eyes which may keep criminals in check.
Therefore, company owners should recognise that their businesses are their livelihoods and every effort should be taken to protect their investment.