Plans in place to tackle rise in crime, says top cop

Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce has reassured Barbadians that the Barbados Police Service will be taking action in order to stop the waves of violence happening in society.

Speaking earlier today during a press briefing in the boardroom of the Police Headquarters in Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, Boyce revealed the plans to tackle the increased crime.

“This wanton use of firearms by these persons has resulted in the untimely death of four of our citizens and injuries to others. Our intent is to take the firearms out of the hands of those young men and return a state of normality to our various communities where persons would be able to go about their businesses without hindrances or fear of being harmed.

“So far this year we were able to take 27 of these firearms out of the hands of these persons along with 262 rounds of ammunition. You may not be aware but our officers have been working around the clock 24-hours a day to root out this firearm problem, especially when there is information that someone’s life is in imminent danger of serious harm or death.”

Boyce let it be known to the media present that the increased number of firearm offences in Barbados is part of a larger rise in crime in all facets, especially in comparison to last year.

“In 2023, we recorded nine cases of murder as opposed to 16 of 2024. There were 69 robberies in 2023 and 58 in 2024. Rape reached 21 cases last year in comparison to the 22 cases in 2024. Aggravated burglary was 32 cases in 2023 and is at 28 in 2024. Theft from a person had 32 cases last year and 29 in 2024.”

Cases of commercial burglary have risen from the 56 cases in 2023 to 63 cases so far this year and burglaries into house offences could very well beat last year’s tally as there have been 192 cases at the midway point of 2024 with there being 225 cases in all of 2023.

Boyce concluded that things are still positive on the crime front in Barbados, saying, “This adds up to an overall total of 444 cases of major crimes in 2023 when compared to 406 cases in 2024 – a nine percentage reduction in major crimes when compared to last year. Looking at minor crimes in 2023, there were 2 265 cases in this category as opposed to 2 085 cases in 2024, an eight percentage reduction in minor crimes. That gives us an overall figure of eight per cent crime prevention so far this year.”

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