Blog Crime Reports

Police are  at the scene of shooting incident at Spieghtstown,St.peter, one man was injured.

Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, says he has received death threats on his life for some cases his office decides to prosecute.

Speaking on Upfront on JoyNews, he claimed that many of those threatening his life have also attempted to influence his work through bribery.

“We get such representations all the time, such offers of inducements, and even threats on our life – I can show you many on my phone. It is not just on galamsey [illegal mining] or financial offences, and even murder. I am the kind that has the tendency not to rely on security, but on certain occasions, I have had to have a review of my security. We get such threats and offers all the time,” Mr Dame said.

The Attorney General indicated that despite such threats, his office continues to work by resisting all forms of intimidation.

“We resist them because some of us have to act in accordance to the mandate given us under the law and the constitution of Ghana,” he said.

The young lawyer said in spite of these challenges, he has been able to protect the interest of the state by effectively defending judgment debt cases, implementing reforms and also prosecuting crime effectively.

He said he would like to leave a zealous legacy stating “I would want to be an Attorney General who inspired the staff and the staff attorneys to conduct matters ably in court both locally and abroad, and I think that is what is most important.”

“I would want an office of Attorney General whose capacity has been effectively built and well harnessed to defend the interest of the state in all matters both home and abroad. People should see the office of AG as the best department in the country. We ought to be an institution which is a star example of success and excellence in the republic,” Mr Dame added.

Source:myjoyonline.com

President Nana Akufo-Addo has made his first visit to Burkina Faso on Wednesday after a storm triggered by remarks about Russian mercenaries, the Burkinabe presidency confirmed Thursday.

The visit was closed to the press, but according to the presidency, Akufo-Addo met with military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore to discuss “major issues in the region regarding the security challenge.”

The visit comes nearly six months after a diplomatic flareup sparked when Akufo-Addo, during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Burkina had “concluded arrangements… like Mali” to employ Wagner paramilitaries.

“I believe a (mineral) mine in southern Burkina has been allocated to them as a form of payment,” Akufo-Addo had said, adding the mercenaries “are at the border” with Ghana.

The Burkina government condemned the remarks, pulled its ambassador from Accra and called in the Ghanaian ambassador in Ouagadougou for a dressing-down.

Traore came to power in a September coup triggered by frustrations in the army over failures to roll back a bloody jihadist insurgency.

Burkina Faso has also pushed French forces to exit the country but has repeatedly denied that it has turned to Wagner.

However, ties with Moscow are warmer and on May 4, Traore said Russia had become “a strategic ally.”

“We will continue to acquire major means with the country (and) will cooperate with those who wish to help us in this war” against jihadists, he said.

Burkina Faso has been battling a jihadist insurgency that has seen more than 10,000 killed – both civilians and military – according to NGOs, and displaced some two million people.

An Accra High Court has dismissed an application by founder of defunct Capital Bank William Ato Essien asking for a chance to re-negotiate with the Attorney General.

Mr Essien has breached the terms of an agreement that saw him escape jail term and commit to refunding ¢90 million to the state.

He has so far paid ¢34 million; ¢30 million was paid when the agreement was reached in 2022.

He was required to pay another ¢20 million by April 28, 2023.

The Attorney General however says failure to make this payment has left him with no choice but to ask the court to impose a custodial sentence.

Lawyers for Mr Essien, however, disagreed. Lead Counsel Thaddeus Sory urged the court to give meaning to the law allowing such an agreement.

He insisted the aim was to ensure recovery. He pointed out that the businessman has simply come into some financial difficulty hence the inability to meet the terms of the agreement.

“Let’s take a pragmatic look at this. We are urging section 10(4) of the interpretation act which requires the court to read every statute and take into account the purpose of the statute in interpreting an Act.

We have attached an agreement which shows the inflows that were to come in.

“We also want to draw the court’s attention to the fact that the instant proceedings are proceedings to execute the judgement of the court which is intended to execute the judgement of the court which convicted the accused person.

“The court has inherent power in any situation to suspend execution of its powers if there is good reason to. We are drawing the court’s attention to Article 126(4) of the 1992 constitution.

“My lord has residual power in so far as the final orders are concerned. You have the power to issue further directions,” he stated.

Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah disagreed. He insisted the court does not have an option at this stage.

“An accused person must respect the sanctity of his own agreement. That is the spirit behind section 35. In this particular case, the convict has breached his own agreement.

“He has come to the end of the road. Accordingly, the invitation to this court to stay proceedings and grant leave to the convict to renegotiate with the prosecution is a dangerous invitation and must be declined.

“The grant of this application will rather send a dangerous signal to other persons that they can come to the court, agree on specific terms, breach those terms and come back to the court for an extension.

“The state is not interested in renegotiating with the accused person. It will, therefore, serve no useful purpose in staying proceedings for the state to undertake an activity it is not willing to do,” Mr Yeboah stated.

Justice Eric Kyei Baffuor dismissed the application saying it was urging the court to interpret the law in an unusual manner.

“First, being a convict before the court, I think mens rea is a requirement in a criminal trial before conviction. The stage at which we are is one of a consideration for the imposition of a custodial sentence and I do not think that the claim for the court to find the mens rea at this stage is well made. We have gone beyond that stage.

“I have also been called upon to apply or interpret section 35 of Act 459, purposively but not literally. Purposivism is not a blanket cheque to the judge to read into and import into the text of the statutory provision any imaginary or fanciful strained interpretation.

“I, therefore, fail to see the invitation by learned counsel in respect of the approach to the proper construction of section 35.

“I do not find it necessary to exhaustively respond to the issue of the amount paid by the convict and what should happen. I will deal with that in the motion of the Republic.”

The court has adjourned the case to May 17 to deal with the issue of imposition of a custodial sentence.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

Andy Appiah Kubi, the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Asante-Akim-North, has revealed that he has provided the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, with all the relevant details concerning claims of bribery attempts made on members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had demanded the dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

The Special Prosecutor had summoned Appiah Kubi, the spokesperson of the ‘rebel’ MPs demanding the sacking of Ken Ofori-Atta for an inquiry into accusations that a wealthy businessperson believed to have links with all political parties had attempted to persuade the MPs to withdraw their demands.

After appearing before the Special Prosecutor on May 10, Andy Appiah-Kubi expressed his readiness to make himself available for further questioning if necessary.

“He needed information from me and I have given the information, I have given a statement and that is the cooperation [I’m talking about]. I already appeared before the committee [and] I have testified, if they find it necessary to invite me again I will avail myself,” the Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim North told journalists in Parliament where the interrogation took place.

However, the information he furnished the Special Prosecutor is yet to be known.

Somewhere in 2022, Andy Appiah Kubi and over 70 NPP MPs called for the removal of the Finance Minister, but later softened their stance after meeting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is the Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and Andy Appiah-Kubi alleged that a businessman tried to influence the group with money brought to Parliament in a bid to get the MPs to abort their decision.

The Majority Leader has promised that Parliament will investigate the allegation of bribery levelled against the unnamed businessman, saying that “The alleged bribery has come to my notice, and we will investigate to see if it is true and the motive behind.”

Chiefs of Akyem Aperade in the Achiase district of the Eastern region led by Obrempong Owusu Twum Berima Tiabofreh are angry over attempt to free four suspects arrested for allegedly stealing railroad steel tracks on the defunct railway line through the community.

The suspects Baffour Awuah, an Achiase NPP constituency organiser, Kingsley Saako ,an Assembly member for Akyem Aperade, Nana Kwakye, Odikro, and John Kingsford Amissah, an Amankrado of Aggreykrom were arrested by Police CID from Accra after a tip off by the chiefs that they have been removing the train steel tracks and selling them as scraps.

After their arrest, the suspects were handed over to Oda Police Command however granted bail same day.

The chiefs alleged, some powerful political hands are interfering in the investigation in an attempt to stop criminal prosecution of the suspects.

Speaking on behalf of the chiefs, the Nifahene of Akyem Aperade, Nana Konadu Asamoah expressed their displeasure stating any attempt to stop prosecution of the suspects will be bad precedent.

“MP Kofi Marfo wants to interfere in the investigation to block prosecution but we Nananom in this community will not allow it . When Baffuor Awuah was arrested he(MP) went there at night to grant him bail around 10:pm to midnight claiming he wasn’t part but he is part,they(police) have taken money . They took Ghc10,000 but for Baffuor Awuah’s case we don’t know how much they took.The railway tracks are for the state we can make it politics .Kofi Marfo the MP cannot make this politics because of votes .If the local police fail to prosecute them I will inform the president and the Eastern Regional Minister must also becareful not interfere” the angry chief stated.

Nana Esi Akoa and Nana Otibu Krah both sub-chiefs at Akyem Aperede called on the police to ensure that the law takes it course without fear or favour.

“We went to where they have removed the rail steel tracks at Aggreykrom with the CID ,we were shocked they have stolen all the tracks I was even shocked. Quickly we got some names such as Elder Kwakye so we proceeded to a funeral ground where he was attending funeral and arrested him.When we got here we also arrested Baffuor Awuah.They must ensure that the law works “.

Railroad steel tracks spanning several kilometres across the country continue to been stolen.

Deputy minister for Railway Development, Kwaku Asante-Boateng said in 2021 that “it is a well-orchestrated business by some unscrupulous individuals to sabotage the efforts of the government to revamp the sector.”

He said the menace is more disturbing in Konongo, Ejisu, Juaso, Obuasi, Adum, Asawase, Kaase, Akrokeri, amongst other areas in the Ashanti region.

The ministry estimates that it costs the nation about five million dollars to construct one kilometre stretch of railway line.

Online stores sell scrap railway tracks primarily R50-65 metal in good condition between $300-750 per ton.

Many online scrap sellers also offer their prices on their sites to get an idea of the price range.

Old railroad tracks can be reused to build new trains, highways, bridges and for concrete rebar.

Source: starrfm.com.gh

The Ghana Standard Au­thority (GSA) yesterday closed down Fenice Metal Technology Company Limited, producers of electrical cables for the Ghanaian market.

The closure comes in the wake of some alleged fraudulent activ­ities engaged in by the company including fake labelling, sub-stan­dard material usage and lack of certification from the Authority.

The exercise was conducted with the support of personnel of the Ghana Police Service under the command of Assistant Super­intendent of Police (ASP) Shine Awudi.

In all eight persons made up of seven Chinese believed to be managers of the facility and one Nigerian supervisor, were arrested in the operation.

Briefing the media after the operations, the head of enforce­ment at the GSA, Mr George Anti, said the authority picked up intelligence that Fenice Metal Technology Company Limited although registered and producing in Ghana, labelled its products, mostly electrical cables as made in Turkey and distributed them on the Ghanaian market.

He said following the intelli­gence, the authority decided to probe further and based on this, it discovered that the company was actually manufacturing electrical cables without certification.

Furthermore, he said these ca­bles on the market were also sub­standard and not fit for purpose.

Mr Anti said the company failed to produce all the necessary documents that permitted its operations when the team visited the factory.

He said the closure of the factory was necessary to halt the company from further producing as well as make way for further investigations.

This is the second time Fenice Metal Technology Company has been involved in illegal activities.

Recently, the company was cited for bypassing ECG metres and stealing electricity.

A 25-year-old man, Kofi Oduro, who stole electric cables worth GH¢27,932 from an uncompleted house in Jachie in the Ashanti Region of Ghana has been jailed.

The Asokwa Circuit Court heard the man took the cables from the house of Ebenezer Donkor, a driver and resident of Akropong Esaase.

When Kofi Oduro appeared in court, he pleaded guilty to stealing the cables and was sentenced to ten years in jail with hard labour by the court presided over by Fred Obikyere.

Before sentencing the offender, the judge bemoaned the growing number of occurrences of cable theft in Jachie and its environs.

Prosecutor, ASP Stephen Ofori, stated that the incident occurred on May 5, 2023, about 9:00 a.m.

He stated that the complainant went to his freshly built house in Jachie and discovered that someone had gone into the property and stolen all of the cables used to wire the house.

Cosmos Manu, a witness in the case, told the complainant that he saw the accused leaving the above mentioned property with some wires in his hands around 8:00 p.m. on May 7, 2023.

After confronting the convict, the witness interrogated him. Oduro abandoned the wires and took to his heels, sensing danger, the prosecutor intimated.

He added that it was discovered that he had fled with some of the wires that were in his luggage.

He was arrested and admitted the offence during investigations and in his caution statement.

After investigation, he was charged and arraigned.

One person is battling for survival after sustaining serious injuries following the collapse of the Word in Action Church at Old Bortianor, a suburb of Ajasco junction, near Bortianor Polyclinic in Kasoa.

Though what might have caused the collapse of the House of God remains unknown, the official from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), and other emergency response teams responded swiftly to the incident to rescue a victim trapped in the church.

An eyewitness told the community citizen Crime Reporter that there were seven church members inside at the time of the collapse adding that they have been rescued alive but one is critically injured.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Unit of the Church in a statement issued today Tuesday after the collapse of the House of God confirmed the disaster and urged the members to remain calm as the leadership of the church has begun an investigation into the matter.

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“We are working with local authorities and the emergency response team to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to address the situation to those in need We appropriate the quick response. or responders and the community members Who have shown their support in these challenging times. We want to assure everyone that has contributed to our top priority. We Will be conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and take necessary measures to prevent it from happening again in the future,” the PR unit said.

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The two runaway teenagers are in custody.

On April 27, police issued two bulletins seeking the public’s assistance in locating two 14-year-old girls – Tanik Jemmott, and Ranika Zayla Husbands.

Jemmott, a third-form student of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School left home on Tuesday, April 11, and Husbands, a second-form student at the Ellerslie Secondary School, was last seen on Thursday, April 13 by her mother Kimberly St Louis.

The girls were seen on lives and posting on various sites but because of some of their recent posts members of the public are now left to speculate on whether or not is was a case of abuse that led one of the girls to run away.

Attorney-at-law Vonda Pile is back in court, but as a defence counsel, after completing a three-year prison sentence for stealing a client’s funds.

She entered an appearance for a serious bodily harm accused in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Thursday.

However, questioned after the court appearance about whether she was back at her practice, she replied that she has never given any statements and that had not changed.

Her client, David Eric Dupre of Layne’s Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael, is charged with doing serious bodily harm to Keith Barrow with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or do some serious bodily harm to him, on December 11, 2015.

Pile asked the court for disclosure in the matter. In reply, Magistrate Alison Burke said that according to the court files, Dupre had already been served with those documents.

However, the accused said he did not receive any and Pile again requested a copy.

The case was adjourned to May 11 and Dupre remains on $3 000 bail. Pile served a sentence at Dodds after she was convinced of theft of $191 416. 39 from Anstey King between April 29, 2009, and October 26, 2010.

She has consistently maintained her innocence. The veteran attorney challenged the conviction and sentence before the Court of Appeal and the Caribbean Court of Justice but was unsuccessful at both courts.

A man of God known as Pastor Isaac Okyeam, popularly called “Pastor Owusu,” has been arrested for allegedly causing the death of a 42-year-old woman named Mrs. Ama Nkansah Appiah.

The victim suffered from burnt caused by spiritual oil allegedly administered by the pastor during a spiritual session.

The incident happened on April 25, 2023, at Akyem Asawase, a suburb of Akyem Awisa in the Birim South District of the Eastern region of Ghana.

According to Adwoa Gloria, the younger sister of the deceased, her sister went to the pastor for a spiritual consultation and returned home with  burns on her body.

She was admitted to the Oda government hospital but later transferred to Korle Bu Teaching hospital in Accra, where she eventually died on May 2, 2023.

When the family contacted the pastor, he denied any wrongdoing

However, it was later discovered that the pastor’s left hand and feet were also burnt.

Further investigations revealed that Pastor Owusu allegedly used a spiritual oil during his usual incantations, which resulted in the fire that caused the woman’s injuries though it's unclear how the fire started.

Initially, there were rumors that suggested that the deceased was attacked by a jealous spouse but Mrs. Priscilla Asmah, another sister of the deceased, clarified that rumours circulating in Akyem Oda were false.

The pastor has been detained by the Akyem Oda police, as the family of the deceased seeks justice for their departed sister. The incident has raised concerns about irresponsible spiritual practices and the need for regulation in the industry.

Source: daily guide network

A man, who deliberately drove his car into a group of people and injured two men, has been sentenced to seven years in jail at the Old Bailey. Bristan William, aged 20, of Park Avenue, #Barking, was handed the sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent when a fight broke out between two groups of males; he also admitted to one count of dangerous driving. He will be disqualified from driving for five years after he is released from prison. On Tuesday 26 July 2022, at around 10:45pm, a blue #BMW was seen pulling up and parking on the pavement opposite Revolution Bar on #Leadenhall Street, with William seen walking from the driver’s side of the vehicle towards the bar. He was later spotted by security cameras leaving the club on his own, going towards the vehicle and was then seen heading east on Leadenhall Street towards a brawl between a group of men in the street at around 11:55pm. William drove his car in the direction of the crowd, hitting an unknown man, before doing a three point turn on the road and driving at the group of men, all of whom managed to avoid being hit. But William didn’t stop there. He made another turn around and drove directly at two men who were trying to flee from the vehicle at the time.

Scammers on Westminster Bridge. Don't fall for this fraud. They are all part of it.https://www.instagram.com/p/CrFJJ0cAkhu/

A woman drugs #kingpin who enjoyed a life of luxury with Louis Vuitton handbags and lavish foreign holidays by running a cocaine-dealing operation has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Danielle Stafford, 29, splashed her drugs cash on a second home, nine watches and three expensive Louis Vuitton handbags, and lived without touching any of her job salary, jurors were told.

The engineer, from Hallgate, Cottingham, tried to pretend that she was the victim of a Liverpool dealer after her drugs empire unravelled before her eyes after she was caught speeding by police, but had in fact been dealing cocaine, cannabis and heroin, Hull Crown Court heard.

A phone constantly rang with 30 calls or pinged with up to 20 drug messages after she was arrested, and police later found £26,917 cash stashed around her home and drugs with a street value of £33,600.

The drugs kingpin had a long-running 'additional cash income stream' but tried to kid a court that most of the expensive items that were found were not designer but fake, or had merely been given to her by family members from their holidays abroad.

Stafford admitted three offences of being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis and another of possessing cash as criminal property between October 2017 and May 2020.

She originally denied nine offences before suddenly changing her pleas to guilty on four charges.

Judge Mark Bury told Stafford: 'You are well educated. You are a promising engineer. Your life went out of control some time in 2017 when you started dealing cannabis.'

Stafford claimed that she had no direct involvement in street dealing cocaine and heroin and that a 'lad' from Liverpool was the prime mover. 'I don't accept that,' said Judge Bury.

There was plenty of evidence that she was a significant cannabis dealer for two-and-a-half years but progressed to dealing cocaine too. 'You were a street dealer in cocaine,' said Judge Bury.

In Stafford's bedroom, £430 cash and £25.36 in coins were found. Herbal cannabis and Ecstasy tablets were found. Bank notes totalling £670 were found as well as £2,350 and £1,480 cash.

advocacy group has asked the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to rule on some recommendations that would expand protection for current and past victims of domestic violence.

The recommendations submitted on Wednesday to the CCJ by Anya Lorde, the lawyer for Operation Safe Space (OSS), came as the Trinidad-based court delivered a ruling in favour of a woman who was denied a protection order by the local courts.

They include expanding the category of persons who can get protection orders and ending the practice of victims being questioned in court by perpetrators.

OSS and the International Centre for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) Inc., which Lorde also represented, had appeared amici curiae (as friends of the court) in a case filed by attorney-at-law Lalu Hanuman on behalf of Roxann Rachel Goddard who went to the CCJ after the local courts refused to grant her a protection order against her former partner and father of her child, Abdul Aziz Akojee.

The Barbadian woman challenged the majority decision by the Court of Appeal to uphold a 2020 ruling by the District ‘A’ Magistrate’s Court that she did not fall into the category of persons entitled to apply under the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act and the court had no jurisdiction to grant her the protection order. 

She sought clarification from the CCJ, Barbados’ highest court, about the meaning of “former spouse” under the Act, and was successful in her appeal.

“The court is unanimously of the view that in this case, the magistrate did have jurisdiction to hear the complaint,” CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders said on Thursday in delivering the decision.

The court agreed with the view of Justice Rajendra Narine, who gave a minority decision in the matter at the Barbados Court of Appeal, that Goddard fell within the persons entitled to apply for the order.

“The appeal is therefore allowed and we will give reasons in due course,” said the CCJ president.

Hanuman said the decision would affect not only his client but others in similar situations.

“It doesn’t only apply to her, it applies across the board. Anybody who has been in a cohabitational relationship, regardless of the passage of time, can still apply for a protection order. Magistrates here in Barbados had said that once they are separated they are no longer entitled to the order. That’s, in effect, what they were saying. But the CCJ is saying regardless of the passage of time, they could still get the protection order,” he said.

Goddard and Akojee were in a relationship for about three years and lived together for approximately 21 months, during which time they had a son. After breaking up in 2019, they had an on-and-off relationship until May 2020.

However, Goddard applied for a protection order following an incident at her mother’s business place.

When the matter reached the Court of Appeal here, the panel said it could not be the case that any person who once had a living relationship with an alleged perpetrator of domestic violence could apply for a protection order under the Act without having regard for the time that elapsed since that past relationship.

Commenting on the broader issue of the protection of women, Co-Director of OSS Dr Marsha Hinds-Myrie told Barbados TODAY that the recommendations made by Lorde to the CCJ went beyond protection orders and addressed legislative and social reform.

The attorney submitted to the five-member CCJ panel that protection should be extended to include former visiting relationships.

“Visiting relationships should not be limited to actual or perceived romantic intimate or sexual relationships of any duration. Practice rules and directions should be enacted which offer a more expansive definition of coercive control and guidelines on how it can be identified by judicial officers,” she suggested, further recommending that practice rules and directions be subject to annual or bi-annual review in line with local and international research findings.

She added that guidance could be taken, for example, from the Domestic Abuse Act of England and Wales 2021 and the UK’s Policy Guidelines which have extended provisions regarding coercive control to include post-separation abuse.

One of the other recommendations made by Lorde was that the practice of perpetrators of domestic violence cross-examining their victims should be discontinued.

“The magistrate should be given the discretion to grant a protection order for the maximum duration of 12 months, excluding any duration of an emergency or interim [protection order],” the attorney suggested.

“Barbados’ poor data collection practice is an omission which contributes to the State’s inability to respond effectively to [domestic violence] and directly contributes to the derogation of victims’ fundamental human rights. This should be rectified with urgency,” Lorde further contended.

In the CCJ case, the other Justices of Appeal were Winston Anderson, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Denys Barrow and Peter Jamadar.

Acting Solicitor General Anika N. Jackson in association with Jared Richards and Fianne Best appeared for the Attorney General as second respondent, while Leah Thompson represented UN Women Multi Country Office – Caribbean. 

Akojee took no part in the appeal at any point.

“If you break the law, we will find you and we will deal with you”.
Those were the stern words of warning issued by a tough-talking Attorney General Dale Marshall on Friday afternoon to anyone who believes they are above the law.
He was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for St Michael West Christopher Gibbs who, using a chess analogy, said some Barbadians were of the view that many individuals who are subjected to harsh penalties for gun crimes were the “lesser pieces on the chessboard” while the “bishops, kings and castles” were untouched.
“What are the strategies to go after the exporters and importers of illegal guns?” Gibbs asked.
Marshall said while he was not at liberty to disclose strategies to tackle the issue relating to guns entering the country, no one was immune to the law.
He said it was only a matter of time before those who have managed to elude authorities are caught and punished.
“I want to assure members of this chamber that as I pursue my responsibilities as Attorney General – and I know that as the Commissioner pursues his as Commissioner of Police – that there are no sacred cows. If you break the law we will find you and we will deal with you.
“If you are a king or a queen, it may be that you may consider yourself to be a little bit insulated or a little bit further out of reach, but the tools of modern policing are such that we have the ability to get to you, and rest assured that we will be getting to you. There is that old saying, ‘what ain’t catch yuh ain’t pass yuh yet,” warned Marshall.
“So let me send a warning that if there are people who believe that for some reason they are above the law, whatever that reason is, that is not a concept that is known to this Attorney General, this Prime Minister, our National Security Council, the Commissioner or any of our law enforcement agencies. No one will be beyond the reach of law enforcement.”
Endorsing Marshall’s comments, Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce assured that members of the Barbados Police Service would leave no stone unturned in their duty to arrest crime on the island. (MM)

parliamentarian Hamilton Lashley is calling on CARICOM leaders to engage in dialogue with alleged gang leaders to negotiate measures to end the spate of crime and violence wreaking havoc across the region.
Saying he was prepared for the tongue-lashing he could face from taking such a stance, Lashley argued that St Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre’s announcement on the weekend that he has asked the Regional Security System (RSS) for help in response to deadly gun violence in Vieux Fort is evident that crime and gun violence are at crisis levels in the region.
“It is at crisis levels without a shadow of a doubt,” Lashley said. “The murder rate in the region is too high. They have kept the secret of youth violence in the Caribbean for too long. St Kitts has its problems, Trinidad has its problems and the recent truce in Barbados seems to be working.”
At the conclusion of the 44th Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas, Chairman of CARICOM Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, announced that Trinidad and Tobago will host the high-level multi-stakeholder meeting next month to address crime, particularly violent crime as a public health concern.
Davis was speaking at the opening of the 44th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, in the Bahamas, last month.
However, Lashley insisted that while the meeting in Trinidad will be necessary, he strongly believes that holistic intervention policies and practices are needed “to harmonise the situation and bring back the countries being impacted to a level of accepted normalcy”.
“But CARICOM leaders have to engage the youth including the men that are running the blocks. Any CARICOM Heads of Government meeting to discuss crime and violence among the youth that does not involve the youth, will not solve the problem and will just be another talk shop.
“It is about young people. How could you have a conference about the youth, but don’t include the youth. Or maybe they should have a youth meeting so that the outcomes from that youth meeting could feed into the larger meeting. This has to be a priority on CARICOM’s agenda,” Lashley said.
Prime Minister Pierre announced that the help from the RSS and 24-hour police patrols are among the measures being used to respond to the deadly violence in Vieux Fort where seven people have succumbed to gunshot injuries since last Thursday.
Lashley has also suggested that in order to put a temporary halt to the deadly violence in their countries, St Lucia, Trinidad, Jamaica and other territories fighting against crime, should consider adopting the truce approach initiated in Barbados by former Chapman Lane, St Michael block leader Winston Iston Bull Branch last month.
He said a reduction in reported gang-related violence across Barbados is proof that Branch’s move to call a meeting between warring gangs has been working so far.
“If it can happen in Barbados let us replicate it across the Caribbean and see what happens, even if it is a temporary solution. I still feel that the leaders in Barbados that signed the truce should hold a special conference so that they could also make recommendations to the regional heads of government meeting or CARICOM leaders meeting.
“You need the block leaders’ input so that you can have a holistic intervention program. Right now, they should be holding subsidiary meetings at the regional level with the youth so that the CARICOM leaders have all the necessary information as to what is happening on the ground,” he said.
Lashley recommended that the Minister of State with the responsibility for Crime Prevention should also be included in any stakeholder meeting being held at the regional level to discuss crime.
“The top down approach only will not work in this instance. The bottom up approach is also necessary. You can’t leave out anybody. This thing is getting real dread. The government in St Lucia like they don’t know what to do. The government in Haiti like they don’t know what to do either. We are the Caribbean, this violence can have an impact on our tourism product.”
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

COPENHAGEN – Barbados has told an international conference that fisheries crime threatens food security and undermines the stability of the oceans as it signed the Copenhagen Declaration, an international initiative against transnational organised crime in the global fishing industry.

Several CARICOM countries were represented at the two-day meeting, which ended yesterday and was described as the largest global high-level forum. It was organised jointly by the United Nations Development Programme and the government of Norway.

Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Adrian Forde, told the Blue Justice conference that Barbados’ fishing industry weaves together the multi-coloured social fabric of coastal communities and forms the national identity of Barbadians.
He said this climate-sensitive sector straddles the kaleidoscope of coloured economies, and unfortunately includes the black economy.

“[It is] an economy, of course, bedevilled with illegal activities, such as drug and human trafficking, and unregulated and unreported fishing, which have often posed a significant challenge in the sector worldwide.

“Fisheries crime threatens food security and undermines the stability of our oceans. How are we charting the way forward towards a better future for the fishing industry? We have been working closely in Barbados with the Regional Security System to detect, stop and fight fisheries crime,” he said, noting that throughout the whole supply chain, “we are striving to assure the legality and traceability of our fish, and execute operations to dismantle the criminal networks that are behind these crimes”.

He said Barbados has started to outfit its vessels with state-of-the-art vessel monitoring systems to provide comprehensive monitoring and analysis of vessel usage, compliance and behaviours with respect to marine protected areas and restricted-use areas.

“Traceability is a game-changer on both fronts, ensuring that fish shipments are certified as having been caught ethically, and in accordance with best practices. However, the certification cannot solely rely on the fishermen’s good faith. The development of plans and policies is, therefore, key in supporting good governance.”
Forde told the forum Bridgetown is in the process of adopting the Regional Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) Fishing so that the national conversation can be one that enhances this sector.

He said another notable initiative is the improvement of the legislative framework to strengthen fisheries management and promote monitoring and surveillance policies, including mandating the use of vessel-monitoring devices aboard all vessels registered in Barbados. (CMC)