EDITORIAL: On the block

Figuratively, the expression “on the block” connotes that the speaker is unemployed (therefore he or she passes the ordinary hours of the working day at a neighbourhood street location together with those similarly situated). Literally, it refers to the location itself, one that is now increasingly being regarded as a breeding ground for criminal activity, rather than for the healthy socialisation of young men and women that it might conceivably be.

Not many would have read it, and even fewer would now recall it, especially since in any event the statement was ultimately rejected in Edwards and Haynes v R, the recent decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice on appeal from Barbados, but in his confession statement to the police that was not established to be voluntary and was thus held inadmissible, one of the murder accused is reputed to have stated, “Damien (the deceased) thief my ’cycle and one of the block guns, so we shoot he.”

This statement is pregnant with an affirmation of the nature of the block subculture and should raise reasonable suspicion of its tendency to outlawry. Not only is there the concept of illegal block firearms, but there is also the crude system of block justice in which none of the constitutional guarantees of a fair trial may obtain; if you are thought guilty of an offence against the collective block, then your punishment is swift, sure and lethal. Here, there is no question of inhuman treatment or appeals to a higher authority. The parallels that are currently being drawn by some officials between the blocks and gangs may not be too far off the mark.

The clear issue for us now is whether we should seek to convert these communities into law-abiding gatherings that may be of some general assistance to the more vulnerable members of our citizenry or whether a no- tolerance initiative should be employed to root out this threat to societal law and order. The Prime Minister has recently declared his preference for the latter and few will disagree with him.

The events of last Monday night are a stark reminder of the blatant disregard that some of these culprits have for human life; the notion of firing bullets into a crowd in hot pursuit of an adversary requires a mindset that was not known to this island a generation or so ago.

The report that the political forces are united in their desire to rid the country of gun crime is certainly welcome, and we look forward to the soonest implementation of concrete efforts in this regard. It is our considered view that these should commence with a clearing of the blocks.

We are aware that any such initiative will be met with the usual Barbadian lament of the singling out of the “small poor black man” and we expect to hear too of the social benefits that might be engendered by the block culture. We ought not to be dissuaded by these. The physical safety of the citizen is one of the primary responsibilities of any governing administration and the taxpayer who funds the police and the other security forces is legitimately expected to be reassured of the inviolability of his or her person or property as they go about their lawful business.

The Barbados Advocate calls today for the governing administration of Mr. Freundel Stuart and his Cabinet to take Barbados back to a circumstance where the average citizen can enjoy a sense of security and of freedom from such indiscriminate gang violence as might have been witnessed on Monday night.