The social, psychological and financial aspects of crime and victim compensation including restorative justice, will be brought into public awareness during the week of September 20, 2009.
A programme planned by the National Task Force on Crime Prevention (NTFCP) will feature victims of crime, psychologists and top officials in the education and criminal justice systems.
Director Cheryl Willoughby and Research Officer Nakita Rawlins will promote the week on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Morning Barbados show at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18.
The events include a church service at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Sunday, September 20 at 8:00 a.m. when Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Freundel Stuart, will address the congregation.
Other activities focusing on the theme The Victim: An Integral Component of the Criminal Justice System are NTFCP slots on CBC TV talk shows, People’s Business at 7:30 p.m. the same day and Morning Barbados the next day (Monday, September 21). This will be followed by a 10:00 a.m. presentation at the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. NTFCP will donate a teen handbook on crime prevention tips to the Ministry.
"Should justice end with a sentence?" The Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Leacock; Deputy Police Commissioner, Bertie Hinds; Attorney-at-Law, Andrew Pilgrim; and Victim Support Volunteer, working with the Royal Barbados Police Force, Marilyn Rice-Bowen, will analyse this topic. A victim of crime will also be on the panel. The discussion is slated for Tuesday, September 22 at the Barbados Workers Union Headquarters, "Solidarity House", Harmony Hall, St. Michael, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
The following day (Wednesday, September 23) is the Finals of the Crime Awareness Quiz for Primary Schools at 9:30 a.m. in Prince Cave Hall, District "A", Station Hill, St. Michael.
Saturday, September 26, is set aside for community outreach at Sheraton Mall, Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church. From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., NTFCP staff will distribute handouts to shoppers. Charlie the Crime Stopper will meet the children and present them with prizes.