| YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN CRIME
Reports have also been carried about Police Youth Clubs, The Prime Ministerial Council On Youth and more demonstrating some attention, but these stories are only 5% which could suggest that they are underrepresented. 5.3 Key Findings The key findings are linked to the indicators in Appendix 4 and were developed to align to the objective of the research project as articulated in the Executive Summary. Content analysis To try and establish a profile of youth crime reporting in the 3 countries being studied, we conducted a key word search of articles in print, online, radio, television, and social media. Most of the stories referenced are from print and e-papers as these are relatively easier to archive. Most of what is posted on social media is done by the average citizen with little regard for accuracy and fact checking. Social media is particularly prone to fake news, staged events, dated reposts passed off as current events, inuendo and conjecture. As such, social media was not considered a reliable source of information for analyzing the behavior of media. Table 9 indicates that Barbados has the most stories about crime, but it is important to note that the statistics need to be viewed in context. More data was available in Barbados and both Grenada and St. Vincent & the Grenadines have weekly newspapers which means there are less pages per week to dedicate to stories, including crime stories. Barbados also has a larger population with more diverse media options which will automatically lead to more stories overall, including crime stories. Radio also had a stronger showing in the media track in Barbados adding to the number of stories and by extension keywords. Approximately 45% of stories presented in Barbados focus on intervention and youth programmes and the need to combat crime, which in and of itself can be a good thing. The remaining stories focus on incidents. This figure has been skewed because of the focus in print stories including drug and drug related issues. Of 65 stories, only two (3%) were about incidents which is the opposite of the trend for all other categories of crime. The National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has been dominant in highlighting issues associated with drug use and the drug trade. In the Barbados Nation, February 17, 2023, a story “At Risk boys Need Love and care Too” speaks about an “upsurge” in gun violence. On the same page there is a brief story “Why so Much Hatred?” about a young man who was murdered – shot and killed. The headlines in no way suggested that gun violence and murder were integral to the stories. Such “soft” headlines could be considered not “alarming” and at worst, misleading. Perhaps, in an effort to protect tourism, stories are “sanitized” as suggested by some journalists. Media sources in Grenada reveal that juvenile crime is under reported and indicate that the story must be a “major event” to be carried and it is difficult to get information from the security forces. Of 42 stories carried, 10 (27%) of all stories focused on intervention programmes or offering advice for dealing with youth crime which suggests there is an attempt to report on youth crime in a more balanced, holistic manner.
38 A Media Analysis of the Coverage of Youth Involvement in Crime and Violence and Trafficking in Persons (June 2021 to June 2023) in the Eastern Caribbean
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