EDITORIAL: Barbados needs to be a safer destination

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Whether or not the call for a special court for tourism-related crimes comes into being, Barbados needs to be safer – for the half-million tourists who visit here annually and, equally, for our citizens.
This fair land is not immune to the dramatic increase of crime, mainly robbery-based and drug-related, that has been sweeping the Caribbean in the last decade; but keeping these shores as safe as possible must be paramount, particularly in the current challenging economic times when every tourism dollar and every ounce of positive publicity counts.
As Barbados is a prime tourism destination, its entire landscape often becomes an idyllic getaway for those who live in cold climes and who themselves face the spectre of crime in all forms daily.