Barbados must urgently reform its sentencing policies to tackle the nation’s staggering 63 per cent reoffending rate, according to the government’s chief criminologist, Cheryl Willoughby.Highlighting the inadequacies of short-term prison sentences and overcrowded facilities, Willoughby warned these issues are crippling efforts to rehabilitate offenders and reduce recidivism.She said: “We have to find ways of encouraging, monitoring, as well as assisting those persons to reintegrate and continue being productive citizens.” The director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU) made the suggestion during a virtual presentation of research findings on recidivism, which revealed that the country has a reoffending rate of 63 per cent. She noted that short-term sentences fail to provide sufficient time for behavioural change, stressing the need for a comprehensive approach to prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration. “There are certain barriers that do not allow for rehabilitation to take place, and one of those barriers is sentencing policy,” Willoughby said.
