Agricultural liaison officer required, says BAS CEO
THE agricultural sector could benefit tremendously from having a high-ranking police officer assigned to network with its stakeholders.
That’s the view of Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul. Speaking to The Barbados Advocate following Friday’s National Consultation on Praedial Larceny hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Paul insisted that just as there is a Tourism Liaison Officer in the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), a position akin to that is required to deal with the instances of crop and livestock theft plaguing farmers in this country. Paul says such an appointment would signal that the issue of praedial larceny is as serious for the authorities as it is for the farmers.
There is a recommendation for a dedicated police unit to deal with the issue, but Paul, cognisant of the manpower concerns, admitted that while a good idea, it may not be feasible at this time and an agricultural liaison officer maybe the better fit. That individual, he said, would be responsible for keeping in contact with farmers groups around the country, allowing them to get a sense of where thieves are likely to strike. He added that then where there may be a need to augment that law enforcement support during a particular season, because of high demand for particular produce, it could be done.
“If we had someone in the Force monitoring what is happening in the sector, we could catch the culprits in the act and they would be able to address the issues that farmers bring to them. Right now there is no specific officer in the Force that farmers can go to, but if there was, I am sure that farmers would more readily report cases of praedial larceny, because I can tell you right now I don’t believe farmers report all the cases due to frustration and a feeling that justice will not be served,” he stated.
His comments came as he said among the main concerns farmers have in the fight against this illegal activity, is the slow response time of police when contacted about incidents of praedial larceny and the failure of the courts to impose maximum penalties.
The BAS official is of the strong belief that imposing the maximum penalties could help to discourage those who engage in reaping what they have not sown. The BAS head maintained that if Barbados is to truly get a handle on the praedial larceny issue, there must be proper enforcement of the existing legislation, even as efforts are made to bring new legislation on board.
“There is a manpower problem in the police force, and putting wardens as proposed by the new Act may work, but the truth is to what extent will wardens really help when you still have to come back to the judicial system to get a conviction? So the ability of the police force to deal with cases of praedial larceny needs to be considerably enhanced and the judiciary needs to respond to the concerns of the farmers in terms of the sentences, because no one piece of legislation will solve the problem if all the players are not on board,” he maintained.
Paul went on to say there is also a need for a public education drive to raise Barbadians’ awareness about praedial larceny and its negative impact. He said at present such theft is often not frowned upon by the general public, and this he maintained must be addressed. So long as that callousness continues, he said, praedial larceny will continue to be condoned.
“It is against the law, but we hear people say they only took a little cane, or a few potatoes. It is stealing, plain and simple,” he contended. (JRT)