Citizen Security Council Gets Down To Business

Government has received several requests from individuals and organisations, representing various sectors, to join the National Advisory Council on Citizen Security, which was announced last Thursday and had its first meeting less than 24 hours later.

And while Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has explained that she does not wish the council to be bogged down by being too large, it is expected that others not named to the body will be coopted to lend their knowledge and expertise to the sub-committees the parent body will create.

“I am delighted to see that so many other Barbadians are keenly interested in joining the council and contributing to the creation of safer communities,” Ms. Mottley said. “While we cannot add everyone who would wish to help to the council, the council will call on you as the need arises.

“I take your desire to serve as a clear recognition that Barbadians have got the message that we all have a part to play. This must be a whole-of-nation effort if we are going to be successful.”

In the meantime, Prime Minister Mottley has confirmed that subsequent to her statement to the country last Thursday, she has been able to conclude discussions with other Barbadians who are to join the council.

They are: Sarah Holder, member of the Youth Parliament; Coreen Selman-Harte, mother of fruit and nut vendor Rodney Selman, alias “Nut Man”, who was shot and killed near his home in 2020; and community activist Winston Branch. The board of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons will meet later this week to determine who will be their representative on the council.

Friday’s meeting, which was held at Ilaro Court and briefed by the Prime Minister, Attorney General Dale Marshall, and Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney General with special responsibility for Crime Prevention, Corey Lane, started business immediately.

Members of the committee engaged in robust discussion on critical aspects of the education system with agreement in principle on the need for approaches that would cut off the supply of teenagers to the block culture by eliminating unsupervised suspensions, as well as superannuation – except where all other reasonable attempts within the system at correcting their behaviour have failed.

In any event, the Prime Minister made it clear that Government will put in place a mechanism and facilities to cater to difficult students who disrupt the learning process in secondary schools, but who she is adamant should never be turned away without a second chance at rehabilitation.

The council will meet every other week, in the first instance, under the chairpersonship of Professor Emerita Velma Newton. (PR/GIS)