Residents assured gunmen will not be allowed to terrorise communities

Attorney General Dale Marshall on Friday sent a clear message to gunmen that authorities would not allow them to hijack communities, as he assured law-abiding citizens they did not have to become prisoners in their own homes.

Disclosing that as recently as Thursday police seized several high-calibre handguns – contributing to more than 460 recovered in the last six years – Marshall said law enforcement officials are pressing on with their efforts to get illegal firearms and shooters off the streets.

“A word of warning to our young men who, by their actions, have been threatening our public safety: Your numbers are few. The people of Barbados are many. You cannot and will not win. You will not be allowed to drive Barbadians into their homes and away from their normal pursuit out of some fear that you have our streets and our communities hijacked with guns,” he said at a press conference that came on the heels of several consecutive days of shootings that saw gun-related murders for the year increase to 12.

“You few villains will not be allowed to make any further inroads into our communities. You will not be allowed to take over our streets. You will not be allowed to disrupt our daily lives and our livelihood. I assure you, as I assure every Barbadian, that every single resource at the disposal of the Government will be brought to bear against you and you are warned not to test our resolve.”

The AG insisted that his warning was for any individual who demonstrated they “care nothing about life”.

“It is our response to individuals who feel it is alright to go into a community and start shooting; not a response to the spike but a response to you individuals who seem hell-bent on lawlessness,” Marshall declared.

At the same time, he said the most effective way to root out serious crime in Barbados is to take a national approach.

“The Government is committed to doing its part, but I call on all Barbadians to recognise that with all of the work that Government does, if each of us does not recognise that we have a significant role to play in rooting out some of these challenges, then we will get nowhere,” Marshall warned.                             

During Friday’s press conference which was also attended by Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce, the AG disclosed that 465 illegal guns were seized within the past six years, along with several thousand rounds of ammunition.

“And this is important because guns are of no use without bullets,” he told reporters as he sought to explain what police were doing to tackle firearm-related crime.

“I share these figures on gun recovery and ammunition recovery, to demonstrate, firstly, the extent of the firearm problem. If we can take 465 guns off the streets…you know that we haven’t got all…so that would tell you immediately that we are facing a serious challenge…but also to highlight to you what the [police] service is doing about it.”

Marshall also provided statistical evidence to show the relationship between murders committed between 2017 and 2022 and the use of firearms.

He said 23 of the 30 homicides in 2017 were by gun, 18 of the 28 the following year were committed with a firearm, and 30 of the 48 in 2019 were also gun-related.

The Attorney General also disclosed that 26 of the 41 murders committed in 2020 were a result of gun use, while there were 17 out of 32 in 2021, and 12 out of 17 so far this year.

Turning attention to the murders investigated by police during the period under review, Marshall said 121 of the 196 killings have been solved, including 10 of the 17 so far this year.

“And I am informed by our statistician that the clearance rate . . . compares very favourably with rates in the developed world . . . . countries that have far, far more resources available to them than we do,” the AG said.

“And Mr Commissioner, this speaks volumes about the quality of your policing in Barbados that you are able to maintain and to reach a world-class clearance rate in relation to murders.”

Marshall assured Barbadians that the yet unsolved murders were still under active investigation.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb