Police pledge comprehensive crackdown on gangs

Top law enforcement officials have branded the recent surge in gun violence as “domestic terrorism”, pledging an all-out offensive to dismantle criminal networks after a weekend of coordinated shootings left one man dead, another injured, and property extensively damaged.

Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce told a press briefing on Monday morning at his Roebuck Street, City headquarters that while violent crime in the past couple of weeks is a cause for grave concern, he was moved to address the public and allay their fears following two “gang-related” shooting incidents on Sunday.

Gavin Nicholas Archer, 24, of Well Gap, Cave Hill, St Michael, was killed when four men on two motorcycles rode through Cave Hill and fired high-powered weapons in broad daylight.

Commissioner Boyce said another man, who was still hospitalised at the time of reporting on Monday, was shot and injured in the same area.

In what the police chief described as a coordinated attack, four men on two motorcycles carried out a similar assault with the indiscriminate use of high-powered weapons in Nelson Street, The City, extensively damaging buildings and vehicles.

“These events represent a coordinated attack on public order. Such atrocities will not be tolerated. The Barbados Police Service, in collaboration with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and all national security and supporting agencies, will employ every lawful measure to identify and dismantle these criminal networks,” the commissioner said during the media briefing, which was also attended by Chief of Staff of the BDF Brigadier Carlos Lovell.

He added: “We will use our full collective resources to defeat these thugs, gangsters and all those who willingly support their criminal conduct. We will also call upon the good citizens of Barbados to support this noble and necessary cause. Your cooperation is essential in the restoration of peace and safety in our community.”

The commissioner declared that those individuals willing to hold communities hostage by indiscriminately discharging high-powered guns in public spaces, with no regard for innocent lives, will be treated like terrorists.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce. (JB)

“Their actions are akin to what happens when terrorists operate in other lands. So, we have to be mindful of those things that can occur and treat it as though we are up against those terrorists… because they operate with no regard whatsoever for life and property and safety of the country,” Boyce stated.

He pledged that the Barbados Police Service and the Barbados Defence Force will continue to “act in unison to confront and suppress gang activity in all forms of domestic terrorism”. 

“We have pleaded with these lawless, violent gangs, who have now declared open warfare on our society,” the top cop continued. “The heinous acts of holding entire communities to ransom cannot be allowed to continue. We will move with urgency, implementing enhanced strategies to rid the country of such behaviour.”

Boyce said the constabulary understands the fear and anxiety which the country is experiencing, and insisted that law enforcers are not throwing their hands in the air in surrender to “this threat”.

“Our response will be based on intelligence, targeted and strategic dismantling of these terrorist elements. Our actions will be robust, decisive, and within the full force of the law. Failure to act is not an option. It is not merely a mandate, it is an honoured duty which we shall undertake,” he said.

Boyce gave an assurance that the police already have video evidence at this early stage of their investigations into Sunday’s double attacks, which, along with other information, have placed detectives on the right path towards apprehending the suspects.

“From our intelligence and our investigations, we are on the right track where this is concerned,” he told reporters. “So, we will follow the intelligence, follow the leads, and take the appropriate actions as we go forward.”

Boyce acknowledged that guns were still entering the country, but said that border security officials were addressing that issue.

He pointed out that those weapons which may have already been in circulation for years were still functional.

The police chief also revealed that there are measures in place to tackle motorcyclists, against the backdrop of these cycles being used increasingly in the commission of crime. He said the police have seized a number of bikes, and this will continue.

Residents can expect to witness a greater police presence in certain districts, even though there is no plan to target any particular community in their overall fight against crime, Boyce added. 

On the question of introducing curfews in certain districts as a crime-fighting tool, the police commissioner acknowledged that, while it is an option, such a move was not on the agenda at this stage.

Boyce stressed that the police will be seeking assistance from partners outside Barbados, which he explained does not necessarily mean boots on the ground.

The shooting death on Sunday has pushed the country’s murder toll to 26, 17 of which were by the gun. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb