A Government-led programme aimed at eliminating gang feuds and reducing retaliation killings is already bearing fruit, with some people turning away from criminal activity.That is according to Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney General with Responsibility for Crime Prevention, Corey Lane who asserted on Tuesday that lives were being saved under the one-month-old Direct Intervention programme.Individuals working with the initiative that was approved at the level of the Security Council and Cabinet about four weeks ago were engaged in “street outreach” and forming relationships with gangs.“A part of that is non-aggression agreements and they’re starting to do non-aggression agreements with the two main gangs,” Lane said in an interview with Barbados TODAY.“Another part is looking at the various feuds and retaliations. Some of the retaliations come from homicides and some of the feuds are being stoked from something as simple as IG [Instagram] wars….”The minis
Minister of State with responsibility for Crime Prevention, Corey Lane has expressed confidence in the performance and the ability of the Customs Department - Sea Port and the Barbados Port Inc to secure the border.
After concluding a tour o
One of the men tasked with bringing Barbados’ crime situation under control is “beyond confident” about the security measures at the Bridgetown Port.Following a tour of the facility this morning, Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney General with responsibility for Crime Prevention, Corey Lane said he was in awe at the high level of security in place at the island’s main seaport.“I am very impressed with the level of security we have right around. I think there has been a major, major difference between what we hear on the street, what we hear sometimes on the airwaves and what I have seen here.“I am very happy to see that we have 100 per cent scanning, we have air coverage of the port and beyond, we have underwater coverage. I think that anybody thinking about doing crime has to think twice when they think about Barbados,” Lane said.
It is not enough to just focus on the aftermath of the gun-related violence; there must also be something done to prevent it from happening in the first place. That was the opinion of newly-appointed Minister of Energy and Business Lisa Cummins, who speaking on Wednesday when she introduced the Firearm Amendment Bill 2022 to the Senate. “This Government is very clear that the only intervention cannot be a matter …
Prime Minister Mia Mottley is urging Barbadians to give the Government and police time to deal with the worrisome crime situation on the island which she says needs societal support.“This is a battle that is going to require the entire cooperation and effort of the majority of Barbadians, and not in a week, or a month or even a year. It is going to have to be sustained, because whether we like it or not guns don’t walk and talk on their own, do they?”Mottley said even though several initiatives had already been implemented and others were in the works, they would not produce results overnight.Last month the Prime Minister revealed that additional courts and judges would be added to help reduce the backlog of criminal cases.Additionally, she said amendments to the Firearms Act, hiring much-needed police and community officers and the appointment of Corey Lane as Minister of State in the Attorney General’s Office with responsibility for Crime Prevention, were all aimed at arresti