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Caribbean Islands National Security
The Royal Barbados Police Force
Domestic police duties in Barbados are the responsibility of
the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF). Originally established
under British colonial rule in 1835, the RBPF was one of the most
professional and effective of Caribbean police forces. According to
the Constitution, appointments to the force are made by the
governor general, acting in accordance with the recommendations of
the Police Commission. Overall command of the RBPF is vested in the
police commissioner.
According to mid-1980s press reports, the RBPF was in the
process of expanding its membership from 1,000 to about 1,200. The
increase, initially resisted by the BLP government, was eventually
undertaken at the urging of the police commissioner and the
leadership of the opposition DLP, which had attempted to score
political points by portraying the BLP as unresponsive to a
perceived increase in the crime rate.
The crime rate in Barbados was generally higher than that of
other Eastern Caribbean states, partially as a result of its higher
population density (see Population, this section). As a country
with a heavy stake in the tourist trade, Barbados has been
concerned as much with the foreign perception of its crime rate as
with the actual statistics. The Barbadian public and government
officials differed to some extent on the nature of the crime
problem; the average citizen was seemingly preoccupied with crime
on the streets and beaches, whereas government and police spokesmen
frequently emphasized the problem of white-collar crime and the
corruption that often accompanied it.
One problem on which most parties seemed to agree was that of
drug abuse, which appeared to be on the increase in Barbados during
the 1980s. The RBPF functioned as the exclusive antinarcotics force
on the island, leaving tasks such as maritime interdiction to the
Coast Guard. Money laundering, possibly in connection with drug
trafficking, was another offense cited by officials to justify
increased manpower and improved training for the RBPF. Barbados did
not appear to be a major transshipment point for drug traffic to
the United States, although in 1985 an RBPF spokesman expressed his
belief that some shipments to Western Europe had transited the
island.
One indication of heightened public concern with crime was the
formation in 1986 of neighborhood watch groups in Bridgetown. The
initiation of this process was announced by the attorney general,
who emphasized the role of the RBPF in guiding and informing
members of these groups.
Most RBPF training was conducted at the Regional Police
Training Center situated near Grantley Adams International Airport.
Funded and largely staffed by the British, the center conducted
courses for both Barbadian and foreign students from other
Commonwealth Caribbean police forces, such as those of the Cayman
Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the British Virgin
Islands. More specialized training for officers was provided at
police facilities in Britain.
As of 1987, the RBPF had exclusive responsibility for port
security and shared airport security duties with units of the BDF.
Data as of November 1987
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