Barbados Police and Defence Force strengthen joint operations to combat rising gun crimes

The Barbados Police Service (BPS) are prepared to be more aggressive on gun-related crimes amidst the shocking numbers of shooting deaths reported across the island in 2024.

Even as the major crime trend continues to decline, the spread of guns has been so heightened that it has prompted law-enforcement agencies to step up joint operations with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) to contain an increasingly dangerous trend of illegal weapons.

During a press briefing, Police Commissioner Richard Boyce underlined the urgent necessity of these joint operations saying that “firearms lie at the heart of Barbados’ burgeoning crime problem. I believe the increase in gun violence is alarming when one considers that we have witnessed nearly a threefold increase in homicides compared with last year”.

In the first nine months of 2024 between January 1 and September 7, the island had chalked up 37 homicides, much more than it experienced in the same period in 2023, where the number was just at 14.

Boyce noted that 26 of these murders involved firearms, some of which included high-powered weapons better suited for battlefields than city streets.

Together with the BDF, the BPS has intensified joint operations aimed at confiscating illegal firearms and dismantling smuggling networks for firearms into the country.

To this date in 2024, these activities led to the confiscation of 53 firearms, a number that in 2023 stood at 52 for the same period.

Although these figures are testimony to the success of the operations, Boyce went out of his way to make sure the public knew of those criminals who, through coastal routes, continue to ship arms into Barbados and hide them within air cargo.

The commissioner spoke with the public, saying the BPS is committed to the fight against illegal firearms and that “We will continue our efforts relentlessly, confiscating as many of these weapons as possible.”

He also pointed out that more importantly, the assistance and collaboration by the BPS must complement and is, in fact, crucial in a package of dealing with this kind of problem because it helps to target criminals more efficiently with their supply chains.

Although gun violence has soared, other serious crimes have plummeted. For instance, robberies declined to 76 cases in 2024, down from 117 in 2023; and aggravated burglaries dropped to 36 from 54.

Overall, major crimes have declined by 17% from last year, totalling 592 cases in 2024, compared with 715 cases in the previous year.

Boyce declares that as much as crime reduction in other areas is incumbent, the gun spread is still very much a potent and present threat to public safety, demanding further cooperation on the people’s part by reporting suspicious activities and supporting the police, toward making Barbados a safer nation.

As a result of this co-operation and due to higher public cooperation, the BPS is even more determined to put an end to any firearm crime, and prevent Barbados from suffering losses, which firearm control will bring along.