Even if crime is down overall in Barbados, the perception and fear of crime will remain priority issues for citizens and the administration running the country.
Often political parties are accused of using issues related to crime as a cudgel against each other for political mileage.
It was not long ago that late Prime Minister David Thompson, when holding the office of opposition leader accused the then Barbados Labour Party (BLP) of introducing what he felt was a failed bus fare and lunch money programme in response to rising crime.
When the tables were turned, and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) took office, current Attorney General Dale Marshall, while shadowing that ministry as an opposition member, was relentless in his demands for the resignation of Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, whenever serious crime rose.
The blame game never stops because it is an easy target on which to focus the political barbs. Concern about crime intersects the political divide, age and gender gaps.
There is no denying that Barbados is in the grips of a quickly escalating problem with gun crimes and murder.
It is not hyperbole to say that over the past two months, there has been a string of frightening murders, most of them with the use of firearms.
What is creating increasing consternation is the frequency of these shootings and ages of the victims – the majority of whom are in their 20s and under.
Across neighbourhoods, there is constant grief as families prepare to bury another young man whose life was cut short.
In the last 24 hours, the country recorded its 25th murder. If the statistics do not make citizens highly uncomfortable, there is not much else that will elicit their desire to act quickly.
According to reported figures from law enforcement, there were 20 murders for the whole of 2023. It is just the beginning of July, and the island has already reached murder number 25.
It is easy to point fingers, however, there is an acceptance that the problem of gun crime is multi-faceted.
Unfortunately, we are forced to assess that we in Barbados, and the region for that matter, have failed to get a handle on what is now a crisis with gun crimes.
Access to firearms appears to be too easy for the miscreants and the lawless, while Barbadians who want to lawfully acquire and own a licensed gun must endure a lengthy vetting process and compliance rules, once given a licence.
The question on the minds of most Barbadians, is what is being done by government to stem the flow. What initiatives are being actioned to ramp up surveillance of our coastal waters, our official ports of entry, jetties and fishing complexes, private entry points at luxury marinas?
Barbadians have a right to know what is being done to address the trafficking of guns from the United States, where there seems to be an obscene fetish with high-powered firearms.
With the market saturated in the US with high levels of gun owners, the gun dealers and crime syndicates are looking to the export market. The obvious target is Latin America and the Caribbean.
Not long ago, there was an emergency regional summit in Trinidad and Tobago to address crime in the region as political leaders focused on gun offences.
With multiple murders almost on a daily basis in places like Trinidad and Jamaica, there is deep concern that the gang and vengeance killings here are escalating by the day.
Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne, at a recent press conference suggested changes to the Bail Act to address a situation where there were accused on bail for multiple murders.
In her media briefing days later, Prime Minister Mia Mottley outlined several tactics to address the escalating situation and they included changes to the Bail (Amendment) Act 2019 that required persons facing murder and gun charges to be held on remand for no less than 24 months before they could apply for bail. That amendment has since been ruled unconstitutional.
Many have argued, however, that were adjudication of crimes undertaken swiftly in our court system, it would have a greater impact on those considering a life of crime.
Frankly, there is very little alignment between a person being charged with a crime, a determination of their guilt or innocence, and the application of punishment.
In such circumstances, crime actually pays, though society as a whole, will bear the weight of its consequences.
