Barbados Police Service Launches Operation Yuletide to Address Crime and Traffic Concerns
November 19, 2023
Operation Yuletide focuses on crime and traffic issues in Barbados during the holiday season. The police are equipped and ready to address these concerns with new equipment and training. This includes increased police presence in problem areas and a focus on addressing uncivilized behaviors in the transport sector. The goal is to create safe zones and maintain law and order.
Operation Yuletide will be focused on crime and traffic related matters. And the police high command says they are ably equipped to deal with such issues with new pieces of equipment and training.
In a release yesterday, it was stated that Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce, his senior command team along with the rank and file of the Barbados Police Service met to discuss the policing strategies for the last two months of the year which is familiarly referred to as Yuletide Policing.
The Barbados Police Service said the process was necessary in part because of the increased number of tourists, various social events and heightened commercial activities in a number of business centres.
“These activities will trigger increased demands on the resources of the Police Service which will necessitate a high degree of planning the deployment of our officers, vehicles and other products . . . . We have tasked the divisional commanders and their support staff to conduct detailed audits of their areas and formulate the appropriate strategies to address those issues and concerns which need to be resolved in short order. The major issues which were identified fell under two broad areas – crime and traffic related matters,” said the release.
The Police Service said they would be paying attention “to problem locations . . . thereby making these areas safe zones for all persons to go about their business without a feeling of fear. There will be an increased visibility of police officers in targeted areas to act as a deterrent against acts of lawlessness and other antisocial behaviours.”
The release also noted that the transport sector will have all eyes on it.
“We are very concerned about the uncivilised behaviours of some drivers and conductors of public service vehicles . . . and heightened attention will be given to those offenders. It is our intention to deal with this perennial problem in a sustained manner while having the law breakers placed before the courts in a timely manner.” (PR/NS)
