Woman is boss in many respects, including in the crime world in Barbados, says director of the Criminal Justice and Research Planning Unit (CJRPU), Cheryl Willoughby.
In fact, while noting that girls are now twice as likely when compared to males to be arrested for violent crimes, Willoughby contended that they are no longer shrinking violets. They are now the brains behind some of the offences committed.
“What we are seeing too as a shift in the nature of crime being committed, is that girls are no longer as passive as we would have known them years ago. They are now liming on the blocks with the boys; they are concealing the weapons for their partners [and] they are actually hiding the proceeds of crimes for their partners.
“If we were to look at the gang culture in Barbados – and yes we do have gangs in Barbados – our research shows that some of these young women are masterminds of some of the serious crimes that we’re seeing across Barbados. They have a big influence over what is happening at the community level and certainly we would see a shift in the nature of criminal behaviour among our young women,” she said.
This was one of many points and concerns raised at the Preventing Youth Violence and Suicide panel discussion held at the H V Harcourt Lewis Training Centre at the Barbados Public Workers Co-operative Credit Union, Belmont Road, St Michael on Thursday night.
