There has been a dramatic rise in major crimes, and a leading criminal justice researcher is concerned that a new homicide record may be set if there are no urgent interventions.
Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (CJRPU) Cheryl Willoughby expressed that fear yesterday as grim statistics were shared about the rise in major crimes against the person, and theftand firearm-related offences.
“So far for June, we’ve had [nine] murders. We are almost at 30 murders for the year. If we continue on this trajectory, based on trend analysis, we may experience as many as 60 for the year. That is something that we do not want to see,” she said.
Willoughby was speaking during a Stakeholders’ Meeting: A Review Of Crime Trends In Barbados – January 1 to May 31, 2025, held at Baobab Towers in Warrens, St Michael.
So far this year, there have been 28 homicides, most of which were by the gun. Although the session focused on and compared data compiled for the first five months of the year, it was also pointed out that June was a tragic period with nine homicides, eight of which were firearmenabled. All the victims were male.
It was also revealed that the average age of those arrested for murder was 28 years old.
Willoughby expressed concern about the prevalence of youth involved in criminal activities.
“I am disturbed, like many of you. I am a mother; I see what is happening with our young men. When we can have 17-year-olds charged with murder and gunrelated offences, it tells us something is going on within the family structure that we need to examine.
“When we have persons who are incarcerated, and challenged with their reading, writing and learning skills, we have a problem,” she said.
She also suggested that there was a connection between school expulsions and incarceration.
“We did a study looking at expulsion and suspension. We found that some of them end up interfacing with the criminal justice system. We had one on remand for murder, so we also have to look at how we address or tend to children who may be having behavioural problems.”
Senior research analyst at the CJRPU Kirt Goodridge reviewed and compared crime trends from January 1 to May 31, 2024, and the corresponding period this year. He revealed there were increases in many categories.
While there were 176 major crimes against people for that period in 2024, it increased to 248 this year. For major crimes against property, there were 462 in 2024 and 504 this year.
In terms of firearmrelated crimes, 152 were recorded in the 2024 period, and rose to 221 in 2025. There were 58 robberies in comparison to 113 this year.
“There has been an increase in all crime categories overall, with an increase in major crimes against the person; a
41 per cent increase overall. This has been propelled by a 95 per cent increase in robberies,” Goodridge explained.
“There has been a small increase in crimes against property; a nine per cent increase overall. This has been marked by an increase in commercial burglaries at 45 per cent.”
The senior researcher highlighted the serious gun violence issue facing the country.
“There has been a significant increase in the use of firearms, which has increased by 70 per cent. There has been an increase in firearm-related crimes, which increased by 42 per cent, and this is propelled by a 120 per cent increase in firearmenabled robberies,” he said.
Vehicle theft and praedial larceny were also of concern.
Last year, 30 vehicles were stolen; so far this year, 50 were reported stolen. There were 20 instances of livestock theft this year in comparison to eight from January to May 2024.
“There has been a significant increase in three types of theftrelated crimes. There has been an increase in theft of livestock, which has increased by 150 per cent. There has been an increase in the theft of motor vehicles, which increased by 67 per cent, and an increase in theft from shops or stores, which increased by 52 per cent,” Goodridge said.
He identified risk factors to crime as socio-economic deprivation (poverty, unemployment), community environment, family and social bonds, education, individual behaviour drivers, substances and mental health, and access to weapons.
He suggested that economic upliftment, educational support through school retention programmes, scholarships, family strengthening (parenting workshops, family counselling), youth engagement (sports, arts, mentorship hubs) and substance abuse and mental health intervention through early screening and community treatment services could be used to fight the scourge.
Chief Medical Officer The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George, officials from the National Peace Programme, the Government Industrial School, Barbados Police Service, Barbados Prison Service, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Ammar Empowerment, Men Empowerment Network Support (MENS) and other stakeholders attended the session. (TG)
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