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Minister of Youth, Stephen Lashley in discussion with stakeholders, including from left, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of Attorney General, Yolande Howard; Commissioner of Police, Darwin Dottin; Director of the National Task Force on Crime, Cheryl Willoughby; and Permanent Secretary Irvine Best (on Minister’s left).??

Government has started discussions on how to proactively stem the tide of deviancy in our society.

To this end, Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Stephen Lashley, and officials of his Ministry met yesterday with several stakeholders in various ministries. Discussions were held in an effort to identify those areas which need to be tackled immediately and offer solutions to help the Royal Barbados Police Force.

Giving the rationale for the meeting, Mr. Lashley said there were several issues facing the country, including some young men being involved in criminal activity. He told the meeting: "This is a social problem which requires the collective approach of all agencies of government. We have a number of systems working parallel, but we are still seeing things which suggest our system is not working as it could.

"…I want us to roll out a campaign to work with the police … and add to what the Force is doing.?? … We need to add our synergies to ensure the interventions are more effective and see what we can take forward to make a difference."

Those attending the near two-hour meeting included: Commissioner of Police, Darwin Dottin and several of his officers; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Care, Sonja Welch; Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of Attorney General, Yolande Howard; Director of the National Task Force on Crime, Cheryl Willoughby; acting Director of the Child Care Board, Denise Nurse; Director of Youth, Hally Haynes; acting Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Patricia Hackett-Codrington; Director of the Department of Constituency Empowerment, Kirk Humphrey; and acting Deputy Director of the Bureau of Social Policy, Lee Rose.

Minister Lashley told the group it was important to engage young people and ascertain their views on what was happening in the society. He suggested that their next meeting should be with members of the National Youth Forum to hear some of their concerns and fine-tune suggestions.????

Commissioner Dottin said police statistics showed that some young people started their criminal careers early and he identified the use of cannabis, actual bodily harm and property crimes as some of the offences they engaged in. He pointed out that on the international scene, criminal careers tapered off at age 40, but in Barbados, it continued over the age of 46.

He noted that the Force already had a number of programmes in place, while others were being rolled out. He suggested, however, that any interventions should include the private sector.??saustin@barbados.gov.bb

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