The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

AFTER Opposition members accused the government of lacking a sound plan to combat crime, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell questioned what more they expect the government to do.

He was responding to St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright, who lamented the country’s murder rate.

His comment came just hours before police recorded another murder yesterday, the second for the week and the country’s 91st for the year.

“We should all be ashamed, Madame Speaker, that we have not in any meaningful and adequate way addressed the issue of crime in a fundamental way,” Mr Cartwright told Parliamentarians yesterday.

He acknowledged that a multi-layered approach involving all stakeholders is essential in the fight against crime, but argued that the government is not leading efficiently in this effort.

Mr Mitchell pushed back, insisting the government is taking the matter seriously and that it was wrong for Mr Cartwright to push a narrative suggesting otherwise.

“The evidence is there on all the social programmes that have been put in place since 2021,” Mr Mitchell, highlighting the Urban Renewal programme, the government’s school breakfast programme and other initiatives, emphasising that these are long-term efforts aimed at positively impacting youth.

“I don’t want the public to be left with the impression that we think this is a joke,” he said. 

“Every day, we are just as bothered as you are about this crime situation. I’ve asked you privately, what more is it you expect us to do?”

“How can we in this small society not be serious about crime issues when it affects all of us, all of our families, our friends who are dying? 

“These young kids who should be living until they’re 70 years of age killing one another for what reason? We don’t know.”

Social Services Minister Myles Laroda also highlighted additional initiatives the government is considering to target at-risk youth, including developing therapeutic schools.

He said officials have submitted reports for Cabinet’s review regarding the therapeutic school. 

He added that the Ministry of Works is preparing designs for the facility, allowing students to attend classes during the day and return home in the evenings.

He said the programme would operate as a boarding school, addressing concerns about what happens when students spend six hours in a positive learning environment and then return to communities where they are exposed to negative influences for the remaining 18 hours of the day.