Crime figures near record highs; vehicle thefts surge

Barbados is fast approaching crime rates seen in its most challenging years, with new data revealing a marked spike in murders and a sharp increase in motor vehicle thefts during the first quarter of 2025.

Authorities warned the country could soon match or exceed the troubling crime figures recorded in previous years.

New statistics from the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU) show a noticeable increase in murders and a sharp rise in motor vehicle thefts during the first quarter of 2025.

Speaking with Barbados TODAY at the CJRPU’s Crime Awareness Month Art Competition handover ceremony, Senior Research Analyst Kirt Goodridge observed that criminal activity from January to March 2025 has been worrying.

Goodridge said that the continued prevalence of firearms used in homicides is a matter of great concern. “In terms of murders, you’ve seen a marked increase compared to the same period in 2024. As of March 31st of this year, 2025, you’ve had 13 murders; 67 per cent of those murders have been committed with a firearm, and the average age of the perpetrators that we’re seeing for these murders is 22 years old. So it has stayed around the same age as we saw last year,” he said.

Goodridge noted that while major crimes overall have increased only slightly compared to 2024, the current trajectory is returning the country to levels seen in 2023, which had recorded higher than usual criminal activity.

“Major crimes have risen slightly, but not too much compared to the previous year, [but] what we’ve seen a significant increase in is the theft of vehicles, motor vehicles,” he said. “So those have increased and while they have increased compared to last year, we have to look at the 2023 level. In 2023 we’ve seen a significant number of major crimes being committed, and what we’re seeing this year is that the level that we’ve seen in 2023 is what 2025 is producing.”

Although 2025 is not yet halfway through, Goodridge warned that the country is already nearing the mid-year homicide total recorded in 2024.

“We have not seen as many murders right now; I think we’re at 18 still. But I will caution to say though that while we’re at 18, this is May. At the end of June last year, 2024, June 30th, we were at 19, so right now we are very close to the mid-year mark that you were at last year,” he said.

Though Goodridge emphasised that violent robberies and general theft have not statistically increased, he acknowledged that recent high-profile incidents have contributed to a perception that crime is out of control. Last week, public concern intensified after an elderly man was violently robbed outside a credit union, and an attempted robbery at Shopsmart in St Philip sparked widespread alarm. These incidents, though isolated, have been widely circulated and have deepened public anxiety.

While noting that these incidents have triggered heightened fears among the general public for valid reasons, Goodridge said those types of crimes have not been reported at an above-average rate at present for the year.

He said: “I would say that what we’re seeing in numbers is that in terms of the violent crimes, the violent robberies, those are not significantly increased compared to last year. The thefts are at the same level, so again, social media tends to highlight things. So while those were a little bit more brazen than general, those are not the norm that we would see in Barbados. So I wouldn’t say that they are an indication that things have become a little bit more dangerous.”

While acknowledging the growing crime problem, CJRPU Director Cheryl Willoughby stressed that parental involvement in tackling crime is essential if any change is to be seen in the number of young offenders being brought before the courts.

“We know that we have the National Peace Programme, we have the Ministry of Youth, we have people in Parliament now on board with the National Peace Programme, so something is definitely being done. It is for Barbadians now to come out and get involved in crime prevention activities. It’s about parents now taking active roles in the lives of their children to ensure that when they bring things at home or when they know that things are happening with their children, that they do something about it and not wait until it is out of hand,” she said.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb