Policing Barbados: Stupid, Short-Sighted Choices Made By Successive DLP/BLP Governments

This excerpt is taken from our December 9, 2006 piece Crimes Against Tourists – Caribbean Governments Can’t Hush Up Victims Any Longer.
Here we are three years later (and after two years of DLP government), and as far as we’re concerned nothing has changed. Our government continues to dangerously underfund the Royal Barbados Police Force and [...]

Crime Statistics for Barbados M.I.A. or freely available?

Good day,
I have been a visitor to your island for some time now.  Recently, I have had some friends come to visit me and they are now interested in moving here.  They have asked me to find out about the crime rate and trends on the island to help them decide where they should like [...]

Trip Advisor post about Barbados “ZR Hustling Pimps”

Editor’s Note: With 500 employees and some 25 million registered active users, Trip Advisor is probably one of the most influential travel websites in the world. (For some idea of the freeflow of ideas and information that happens there, read the Trip Advisor thread Barbados or Jamaica?)
One traveler recently posted an article about our ZRs, [...]

AccessOne Barbados Chairman alleges fraud by Scotia Bank Barbados, “dishonest” banking executives Roy Purcell, Kevin Teslyk

(This article can be found at CNN iReport. BFP reproduces it here because, hey, ya never know when the big boys at CNN might change their minds about publishing it.)
Back in 1967 I came to the USA with my older sisters from the island of Barbados.  I later returned to attend school in Barbados before [...]

Soon there will be no crime in Barbados – Make that no “reported” crime

Statistics bamboozle Commissioner Dottin… or maybe it’s the other way around

A smiling Commissioner of Police announced that the latest statistics showing a reduction in crime were “very gratifying”. But as unquestioning reporters lapped up Dottin’s every word, a different story was playing itself out just north of Grape Hall where yet another citizen decided that [...]

Articles about murdered tourist Terry Schwarzfeld disappearing from Canadian News archives

“Dear Barbados Free Press,
I thought you’d like to know the reason why past news articles about Terry Schwarzfeld are being removed from the web by Canwest. Ask yourself ‘How much was Barbados Tourism spending with Canwest before the incident? How much is Barbados spending on advertising with Canwest now?’ “
… received as an anonymous email [...]

The Barbados Advocate blows the Manulife Lawsuit story big time

Manulife Case Going To Trial in 2011
The civil court case involving Bajan policy holders who claim they were fleeced by Manulife will finally take place in 2011. Maybe. If the Manulife lawyers don’t do their “delay, delay, delay” thing until witnesses and victims die or move on after a decade of being under the oppression [...]

VECO cover-up continues in Barbados – CEO Bill Allen gets 3 years prison for bribing Alaska politicians

Alaska Senator’s Son was paid US$243,250 in “consulting fees”
The corrupt former head of VECO Corporation – the same company that built the Oil Terminal and the new Dodds Prison in Barbados – has been put in jail for 3 years for his leading role in VECO’s ongoing policy of using bribes to obtain government [...]

Bar Association: Public having doubts about Barbados lawyers’ credibility. (No Kidding!)

Leslie Haynes QC, the President of the Barbados Bar Association, is whining in the Nation about how tough it is to be a lawyer these days when the public over-reacts to a few bad apples.
Our message for Mr. Hayes:
Everyone understands a few bad apples in any profession – it is the Bar Association’s long [...]

Private Barbados Tourism Impact Study highlights concerns with policing, environment and housing costs

Tourism Impacts – The Good, the Bad and the “Oh Oh”
Amit Uttamchandani of Pull! Push! blog recently completed his online study of Resident Perceptions of Tourism Impacts in Barbados with over 400 people taking the time to participate. The study forms part of Amit’s just submitted MBA dissertation. (Good luck Amit!)
Amit’s study validated some of [...]

Barbados Auditor General: Owen Arthur – Mia Mottley Government stole land and profits from the people of Barbados

“On two occasions, lands for which the infrastructural development was funded by the Corporation were placed under the control of private developers for allocation to potential buyers. There was no clear benefit for the Corporation from this course of action. With applications in excess of 24,000, there was no benefit in allowing private developers to [...]

United States IRS to expand Barbados office and others. Looking out for American tax cheats

Welcome to the new world where Barbados is forced to allow increased numbers of American IRS tax investigators to work and investigate freely on our island.
Just because the US says so.
Our government can’t say “no” because you know what would happen.
Well, that’s what President Obama promised he would do if elected, and he’s done [...]

Police urge Bajans to not walk alone in secluded areas, be wary of strangers approaching your home

Was Chief Justice Simmons right? Is it time to bring in the Military?
The end of a murderous weekend has the Royal Barbados Police Force advising members of the public to avoid walking alone in secluded areas and to exercise care when anyone approaches their property.
A list of murders and violence over the last few days [...]

PBS Communications Inc. Blog: Reliance upon Privy Council “Niggardly” (!!!)

“Mind you, this is not to say that the CCJ is the only real alternative. In fact, the jingoistic politics that have made CARICOM such a dysfunctional laughing stock actually militate against member states turning to this regional court as a replacement for the Privy Council.
Accordingly, we may find that the only viable alternative is [...]

Cowardly pee-in-pants Barbados Nation Newspaper hides name of corrupt Government Minister

When a Government Minister’s husband is awarded a $300,000 contract for work he has no experience doing – That’s Corrupt!
The current DLP Government says it is taking steps to sue the husband of a former Minister in the previous Arthur/Mottley BLP government – over the non-fulfillment of a 2004 government contract for the removal of [...]

The Failure of DLP and BLP Governments to protect Bajans from dangerous & drunk drivers

Successive Barbados Governments all talk as drunken road slaughter continues
The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.
Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day [...]

Tsunami of Swiss, European visitors to our Leroy Parris – CLICO articles

Hundreds of Swiss and other continental visitors are arriving at Barbados Free Press to read our articles dealing with CLICO and Leroy Parris.
The trend started early last night and started to taper off about 11am Bridgetown, which is 5pm in Zurich, Switzerland where many (but not all) of the visitors originate. While most arrive through [...]

When there is a lack of will to punish wrongdoers, the world pays attention

For almost two years now, David Thompson and his DLP comrades have been declaring that they will hold people “accountable” for wrong-doing.
The list of wrongdoings is long, and for the mostpart the main culprits are known. When we think of Hardwood Holdings, the Barbados Tourism Authority, Hotels and Resorts, Dodds prison, the dozens of major [...]

Disciplinary Committee of the Barbados Bar Association prove they are as incompetent as the lawyer appearing before them

“Unfortunately, both (Attorney Balfour Layne) and the Disciplinary Committee laboured under a mistake of law that Mrs Henry’s action was statute barred against the Transport Board,”
Ya can’t make stuff like this up, folks!
Attorney Balfour Layne and all the big-name lawyers of Disciplinary Committee of the Barbados Bar Association didn’t know the law – which is [...]

What did Robert Hoffman know about Sir Allen Stanford’s crimes, and when did he know it?

Journalist started Antigua Sun newspaper for Crooked Sir Allen
Here is a book I’d love to read – because I want to know if author Robert Hoffman comes clean about how he personally started up Sir Allen’s Antigua Sun newspaper that was used to bait the trap for the suckers who trusted Stanford with their [...]

Which DLP Government Official wrote this Barbados Advocate Editorial? (or should we say “this DLP Advertisement”?)

“… At present, the government is doing all it can to improve road safety and traffic flow. However no improvement will have any effect if Barbadians continue to drive reckless!”
… from the Barbados Advocate newspaper editorial Slow Down!
The Barbados Advocate declares war on criticism of the DLP Thompson Government
That’s it folks. No further comment is [...]

Barbados Police slow to act upon threats to woman. We agree that’s newsworthy.

Barbados Police should have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy when it comes to domestic violence and threats to women
Sylvester Henderson Dear went to a woman’s home and threatened to do her violence. The reaction of the Royal Barbados Police Force was to warn Dear that he shouldn’t threaten violence to the woman.
Then… they let him go.
Five [...]

United States Vows to increase prosecution of Human Trafficking in it’s offshore territories

United States accuses Barbados of “Minimal efforts” in fighting Human Trafficking
The US Attorney’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation recently announced increased efforts to prosecute of human traffickers in American offshore territories. Guam and the Northern Marianas are of particular concern because the reported incidents of human trafficking doubled over the course of two years, [...]

Terry Schwarzfeld Tourist Murder: Preliminary Hearing Begins against accused Curtis Joel Foster

Widower of Murder Victim Schwarzfeld complains he is kept in the dark about trial
The Canadian news outlets are reporting that the preliminary hearing in the Terry Schwarzfeld tourist murder started today in Bridgetown, Barbados. Bajan Curtis Joel Foster is charged in the February 2009 robbery and murder of the Canadian tourist.
None of the Barbados [...]

Different day, Same old promise…

Yawn…. Back on August 23rd at the DLP annual piggyfest, Prime Minister Thompson once again promised he was going to hold people accountable for “certain financial irregularities” at the Barbados Tourism Authority. You know how it is folks, every few weeks the PM says he’ll hold the thieves to account and the paper prints his [...]

Barbados Advocate ‘Yellow Journalism’ Editorial Ignores the Truth: Hartley Henry carried out his threat at Barbados Underground

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT – Discussion of alleged intimate acts
Tell your neighbours, Tell your friends about the Lie in The Barbados Advocate

It is really very simple, folks. Let’s review what happened step by step…
1/ August 23, 2009 – An article at the Nation News is published accusing the PM’s senior advisor, Harley Henry, of threatening [...]

Senior Advisor To Prime Minister David Thompson Follows Through With Threats Against Barbados Journalist

Hartley Henry Makes Public Allegations of Sexual Impropriety, Beatings, Attempted Suicide by Nation Newspaper Staffers
Uses Barbados Underground Blog
We told you on August 24, 2009 how Barbados journalist and editor Carol Martindale alleges that Hartley Henry threatened to turn Barbados against her if The Nation Newspaper did not print a story about a political poll [...]

Chris Brown Sentenced To Probation In Rihanna Assault – Court Reveals Ongoing Assaults By Both, Confirms Barbados Land Rover Damage Rumour

Rihanna & Chris Brown: A Violent Mix
A Los Angeles judge sentenced Chris Brown to five years probation and six months’ community labour for the vicious assault upon Rihanna earlier this year. The judge made it clear that Brown was to do manual labour in the community and not easier service.
The court also heard that, as [...]

Typical Barbados Justice System Follies: Another Police File “Missing” at Director of Public Prosecutions Office

In a real Justice System all the alarm bells and sirens go off when a police file goes missing in a high-profile case.
In Barbados, its only another day of at the office.
Welcome to the Justice System of Barbados…
This is a country where a twelve year old girl is raped and it doesn’t come to court [...]

We’re Happy Nicholas Cox agrees again with Barbados Free Press

Yup, once again Nicholas Cox has taken a position agreeing with an earlier Barbados Free Press article. It is always heartening to see that members of the local news media and frequently published writers still come around BFP once in a while even though we constantly criticize the Bajan news media on many levels.
This time [...]

Barbados Police Allow Thieves To Take Home Stolen Fish – No Charges

GRAEME HALL NATURE SANCTUARY, INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, Barbados
MONDAY, August 24, 2009
Email Contact:               news@graemehall.com
Archives and Art:          www.graemehall.com/reference.htm
Poachers Caught and Released by Police
On Saturday, August 15, 2009, a group of about 15 fisherman were found in the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary fishing illegally for its rare tarpon, the largest and most popular exhibit fish in the Graeme [...]

Are CCTV Video Cameras Effective In Solving Crimes?

Barbados politicians and senior police officers have often been heard talking about installing Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) as as method of deterring and solving crimes. Half the time the politicians talk about CCTV though, I get the impression that they are merely offering the “crime solution idea” soup de jour.
It seems common sense that [...]

Barbados Newspaper Editor Threatened by Senior Advisor to Prime Minister David Thompson – Police Investigation Launched

Mr. Hartley Henry, the senior political advisor to Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson and, many say, the primary engineer of the DLP’s election victory in the 2007/2008 campaign, is under police investigation for alleged threats to the editor of the Sunday Sun newspaper. The editor, Carol Martindale, says that Mr. Henry threatened to destroy her [...]

Hero’s Welcome In Libya For Lockerbie Terrorist Spits On Victims’ Graves

“Obviously a political decision…” … US Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
The full story of the “compassionate release” of the man convicted in the terror bombing that brought down a Pan Am 103, a Boeing 747 full of innocent men, women and children, is starting to appear in the British news media. Contrary [...]

Mexico Decriminalizes Marijuana, Cocaine, Heroin Personal Use – Is it about tourism?

Wise Move in the Drug Wars… or Desperation By A Failed Nation?
This week the Mexican government decriminalized personal possession of marijuana, cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine and heroin.
I’m no expert, but it seems to me that Mexico has just expanded the demand for product and enriched the drug cartels and local dealers – while doing nothing to [...]

Barbados Integrity Legislation a Forbidden Topic at Weekend DLP Conference

The governing DLP Democratic Labour Party is holding a conference this weekend at the George Street Auditorium, starting tomorrow (Friday August 21st) and ending on Sunday. Prime Minister David Thompson will address the faithful on Sunday morning at 10:30am.
The agenda of the “DLP – Working For You” conference does not include anything at all about [...]

Barbados Police Again Fail To Uphold Law At Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary & RAMSAR Protected Wetlands

Barbados Deliberately Neglects Enforcement of Wildlife Laws on RAMSAR Treaty Protected Wetlands
On Saturday August 15, Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary personnel reported at least 15 people boldly fishing in broad daylight from the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary boardwalk.
The Royal Barbados Police Force were called but as usual they didn’t respond for hours. I guess the [...]