Attorney General Dale Marshall has stressed that crime in Barbados cannot be viewed in isolation, as criminal networks increasingly operate across the region.
Addressing concerns raised by the Opposition during this morning’s Estimates debate in Parliament, Marshall pointed to intelligence showing clear links between gangs in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and St. Lucia. He warned that while legal trade has long connected Caribbean nations, so too have criminal enterprises, using regional travel to facilitate illegal activities.
“Individuals move across the region, sometimes under the guise of music, sometimes under the guise of a holiday. But we always have to be on alert to track how the criminal elements are moving up and down,” he said.
Marshall also revealed that between 2021 and 2024 there were 359 firearms seized and he pointed to progression of powerful weapons being smuggled into Barbados and other Caribbean countries out of the United States.
Marshall also acknowledged a troubling rise in homicides across CARICOM states, underscoring the urgency of a coordinated regional response. He revealed that following a meeting in Guyana last November, leaders agreed to establish a task force led by a senior CARICOM jurist with each country contributing to legal draftsmen, criminologists, and other experts to shape a unified crime-fighting strategy.
“This task force will be the crucible in which the strategies the region adopts will be formulated,” he said, reinforcing the need for collaboration to combat organized crime.
In relation to Barbados he said the situation wasn’t dire but it was serious and crime has be tackled at multiple levels.
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