A drug treatment court will be established in Barbados will be this year as Government seeks to deal with a high prison population and the recurring problem of recidivism.
Home Affairs Minister, Adriel Brathwaite said the issue is providing a “major headache” for the authorities and that the government is continuing to explore all avenues to tackle the problem including the soon to be introduced Drug Treatment Court (DTC).
“Every effort must be made to reduce the number of persons incarcerated, since this could have a negative impact on the quality of services that government is able to offer under the circumstances.
“With this number increasing many countries including Barbados, have had to reconsider their incarceration policies and move towards alternative interventions for non-violent, particularly drug-involved offenders.
“Later this year, Barbados will be introducing the drug treatment court as one of the ways to deal with the issue of incarceration and recidivism. It is anticipated that this court will effectively assist in reducing crime and the cost of incarceration and treat the needs of those drug dependent offenders who require treatment interventions and not necessarily incarceration to address their particular problems,” Brathwaite told the Barbados Prison Service’s Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner which was held recently.
He said that recent figures showed that males continued to outnumber females in terms of criminal activity and the trend “deeply unsettling”.
“The figures for October 2012 showed that the average offender population was 1,092 (1,053 males and 39 females). The highest daily population was 1,112 (1,070 males and 42 females). The lowest daily population was 1,076 (1,039 males and 37 females). The average number on remand was 496 (483 males and 13 females),” he said noting that the figures were similar for the month of November.
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