Brathwaite comments on Sir David’s advice on crime
Sat, 08/20/2016 - 12:00am
Nothing new!
This is how Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite viewed comments made by this country’s former Chief Justice Sir David Simmons during a recent call-in programme, which looked at the crime situation in Barbados.
In his contribution to the debate on the 2016 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals in Parliament, Brathwaite said much of what Sir David spoke of came from a green paper on crime.
“If you listen to some individuals, you would believe that the challenges that we have in terms of law and order in this country are new; never had them before,” Brathwaite said.
He told the House that he read the Government Proposals for Crime Reduction April 2001, signed by Sir David, who served as Attorney General at that time, “and much of what I read in the newspaper a couple of days ago, is what is in this 2001 Green Paper – nothing new.”
“But all of a sudden the challenges we are happening in the country, are happening because things are hard in Barbados…We never had these challenges before, but across this Green Paper in 2001 as well as across the Law and Order Commission Report 2006/2007, there is a common theme in terms of how we have escalating gun violence in this country. How we need to look at the level of violence in this country. And moreover how do we engage on the scientific way in terms of the policies that we put in place to ensure that there is a reduction of crime in this country.”
Stressing that this current Administration has been taking such measures, Brathwaite insisted, “That is what the team at the Attorney General’s office and myself have been doing…We didn’t need any green or white paper.”
“I have had one national consultation and that is because I wanted to and still want to transform the juvenile justice system in this country and I shall address that before the end of the year. That I felt needed a wide discussion, the wide public consultation. But we have not had any reason to have any green paper, etc. because we understand the issues and have been working methodically to ensure that Barbados can continue as a safe place to live and work…and it still is.”