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Barbados needs a stronger system to monitor individuals granted bail or released after serving time in prison.
Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit, Cheryl Willoughby, says gaps in post-release monitoring are fuelling a cycle in which young offenders repeatedly return to the justice system.
She made the recommendation as the island’s latest crime report, released by her unit, identified growing involvement of youth in serious criminal activity.
The report notes that many individuals are entering the system at increasingly younger ages, often shortly after leaving school.
Ms Willoughby also highlighted a cycle in which offenders are charged, jailed, released, and often return to the system due to gaps in rehabilitation.
She says she is looking forward to the introduction of parole.
