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Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson said an all-hands-on-deck approach must be taken to wrestle the upsurge of crime in the country.

Fighting back: Security forces to receive additional resources

AGAINST the backdrop of the upsurge in recent violent criminal activity, Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson has given the assurance that the security forces responsible for protecting the country will be given the necessary resources to maintain law and order.

According to the Minister, “We know that we are going through difficult economic times at present, but as I said, the maintenance of law and order and the security of our national base of our security is of paramount importance and government will put the resources in the Police, in the BDF (Barbados Defence Force) and in all the supporting agencies to maintain law and order.”

While not going into details, he stated: “We will give the resources, equipment, the machinery, the manpower to make Barbados secure and stable.”

Minister Hinkson was delivering remarks at the National Council on Substance Abuse’s Drug Awareness Month church service, which was held at the First Baptist Church on Constitution Road yesterday morning.

He stated: “It cannot be that for the last week, every other night there is gunfire some part of Barbados. People being killed… and there is an inextricable link between legal drug use and criminal activity and guns and violence.”

“We cannot afford for our country to be overtaken by a very small percentage of misguided persons who engage in deviant behaviour. These individuals are affecting our future as a viable society and economy. The future of our children and grandchildren, some of whom are not yet born, is at stake.”

He said while intelligence has shown that the issues are linked with illegal drugs and criminal activity, there are some instances where in some cases men have “lost favour of women”.

Minister Hinkson stressed that in order to wrestle the scourge of illegal substance abuse and violence to the ground, an all-hands-on-deck approach must be taken. “All of us, government, civil society, including the Church, including the all other non-governmental agencies, have to create avenues for positive human development of our youth.

“The youth need to be involved in meaningful extracurricular activities such as sports, culture, the arts, scouting, Girl Guides, Cadets, swimming. Every Barbadian it is said must learn how to swim since we belong to an island. All of us have to assist the youth in their involvement in these positive extracurricular activities, in order to assist in their acquisition of positive characteristics.

“The Police, the border security officers, our armed forces all need possible assistance from every right thinking person in this country to assist in its mission. This will reduce the chances that our youth will become addicted to illegal narcotic use and criminal activity which threaten to undermine to improve the quality of life for our people who reside in this country and to our nation again punching against its weight.”

He stressed that all Barbadians must play a part in inculcating a spirit of volunteerism and patriotic commitment to the nation.

There have already been two reported murders for 2019. (JH)

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