BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC -Attorney General Dale Marshall has emphasized the importance of crime prevention and directing people away from a life of crime, as the Barbados Police Service (BPS) outlined a six-point policing strategy aimed at curbing firearm-related offenses and bolstering public safety.
Marshall told the BPS’s Annual Grand Conference that tough policing is essential, warning that “if we do not take steps to try to steer people away from crime, the perceived gains from more arrests and faster trials will be meaningless.”
He told the conference, which ends here on Tuesday, that the crime prevention program, though no longer under the Office of the Attorney General, will continue to seek to effect change in the behavior of young people.
Marshall said that new forms of criminal conduct were present in society and that policing strategies must remain relevant in a rapidly changing landscape, noting a slight increase in crime last year.
“Yet there cannot be any denial that violent crime has mushroomed in our island and, across the region, and continues to be a cause for concern. Gun crime, in particular, has become an almost daily occurrence, and fearfulness among our citizens has become commonplace.”
Marshall said that as of April 5 this year, Barbados had recorded 15 homicides, with firearms being used in 10 of those killings.
He said that the Advisory Council on Citizen Security is actively reviewing Anti-Gang legislation from across the region to make recommendations to the government on the way forward.
He said that in February, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, during the summit here, agreed to establish a project team to design a targeted, practical, and ready-for-implementation Strategic Plan to improve and modernize criminal justice delivery across the region.
“We have been wary of looking at statistics in other territories for fear that we are perceived as arguing that other countries have it worse. But we cannot fail to examine carefully what is happening in our regional states, as you … know only too well the cross-border nature of criminal activity and the connections between the gangs in many of our jurisdictions. A failing in the criminal justice system in one territory will, therefore, impact us in Barbados,” Marshall added.
During his address, the Attorney General said the police’s authority was recognized and accepted in the past. Still, now, the public has become hostile and resentful of police officers in the execution of their duties and shows no compunction about obstructing them in the performance of those duties.
“Apart from the change in the attitudes of Barbadians, the criminal element has also become quite sophisticated, and perhaps worst of all, very brazen, as they do not hesitate to use firearms in the most brutal and public of ways,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, the BPS has adopted a six-point policing strategy to deal with the rising crime.
Police Commissioner Richard Boyce said the new strategy is critical to addressing the island’s record levels of gun violence and evolving security threats.
“Unfortunately, we have to redouble our efforts in winning the battle against the various players in the illegal firearm mix, the traffickers, the suppliers, the users, the stashers, and also those persons who conspire with other persons to perpetuate and perpetrate in their relationships with these weapons,” he said.
In addition to firearm suppression and operational resilience, the strategy includes leveraging technology for effective policing, improving public safety and investigations, boosting traffic enforcement, and building community trust.
The action plan comes as Barbados records high gun-related offenses rising from 21 to 49 and firearm-related incidents increasing by 14 percent from 351 in 2023 to 401.
“The fight to win the battle against firearms will require countrywide support. The police working in tandem with the Barbados Defence Force will not be able to do it independently,” Boyce said, noting that despite grim statistics, several positive developments have been achieved.
H told the conference that commercial burglaries decreased by 20 percent, thefts from vehicles dropped by 32 percent, livestock theft was halved, and domestic violence-related offenses declined by 20 percent.
Boyce said that the police were now inclined to use digital tools, such as body-worn cameras, dashboard cameras in vehicles, speech-to-text digital note-taking at crime scenes, and expanded CCTV coverage as critical measures for improving transparency, coverage, and public service.
The two-day conference’s theme is “Proud of Our Legacy, Vision for the Future: 190 Years of Tradition and Transformation.”
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