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Barbados Homicides Stats – Jan to Nov 2024

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Update on Barbados homicides statistics by Amit at caribbeansignal.com. We are on track with a couple weeks to go in 2024 for it to be a ‘record’ year – David, blogmaster.

Reproduced from caribbeansignal.com – At the end of November 2024, Barbados recorded at least 48 homicides between January 1 and November 30. This represents an increase of five deaths, or 11.6%, over the January-to-October period. For the same period last year (i.e., January to November 2023), there were at least 19 homicides. This represents an increase of 29 deaths, or 152%. My count and analysis are based solely on media reports; the figures and insights provided below should not be considered official or final.

Image 1: Barbados Murder Map, Jan to Nov 2024
Image 1: Barbados Homicide Map, January to November 2024

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71 responses to “Barbados Homicides Stats – Jan to Nov 2024”

  1. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    One of the beautiful things about the internet is that a number can be populated over a number of different sites. Please look at the number for 2019 on this site. This was consistent with BU for about 4 years.

    https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040987/number-of-homicides-in-barbados/

    Roll that 50 back (correct it) or provide an explanation

  2. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @David
    I can’t add anything to what Gibbons has written, I hope other citizens will scrutinize the action(s) of the AG’s Dept. and voice their opinion(s).

  3. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Could it be that the AG was aware that the case of the police was weak (false)?

    Could it that he expected the policemen to lose, but was depending on the magistrate/judge to give the attorney a petty sum? He expected her to get a pyrrhic victory. When the third wheel of the injustice system did not go through the motion of giving the attorney a petty award, it made the AG bawl.

    Junk justice was defeated.

  4. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Barbadians always claim to be the smartest people on the planet. I want to challenge that claim.

    I was listening to Brasstacks this morning and as they were about to hold the police feet to the fire, someone called in about lawyer’s stealing their clients’ money. Not the smartest tools in the shed. Amusing how they can a new sore for every bit of plaster.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    @Sargeants

    The revelry of the season means this item will possibly fade in the memory.

  6. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    @Sir David
    Sir, the integrity of the site is being undermined. This 50 vs 48 is a watershed moment in the history of BU. After carefully dissecting murders in Barbados for about five years, we cannot find two more for 2019.
    I anxiously await your explanation,

  7. Amit Uttamchandani Avatar
    Amit Uttamchandani

    @ The OG

    My count, for 2019, has it at 50. In addition to monthly blog, I’ve been revisiting previous and manually adding data into an online database which anyone can query using various dimensions. Here’s the link to the 50 (by my count which as everyone knows, is not official).

    https://data.caribbeansignal.com/dynamic_reports.php?year=2019&gender=&parish=&month=&how=

    Kind regards,
    Amit Uttamchandani
    http://www.caribbeansignal.com

  8. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks Amit

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2024/11/13/barbados-close-to-pre-pandemic-murder-rates/

  9. John Avatar
    John

    The OG
    December 15, 2024 at 1:04 pm
    1 Vote

    Barbadians always claim to be the smartest people on the planet. I want to challenge that claim.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Grasshopper

    I agree with you.

    Bajans can’t even figure out that if the BLP won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly then it is impossible to form an opposition.

    No Opposition => No Leader of the Opposition => No Opposition Senators => No Parliament => No judge appointments, and …. no Government!!!!

    Even the GG can’t figure out that if she swore in 29 Government ministers the 27th May 2018 then it is impossible for a Leader of the Opposition to show up in her front house and claim to have been sent there by the largest group in the House of Assembly that opposes the Government.

    The lack of smarts starts at the top.

  10. John Avatar
    John

    …. and the GG has accepted she is now El Presidente de la Republica de la Barbados.

    Even King Charles can’t seem to get that in his head which does not say much for the Brits.

    I got to be careful now, TLSN and Hal Austin will feel I got it in for them.

  11. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    This notice below been on MTW’s Facebook page since April, 7. 2022.

    My questions:
    How many driver’s have been breathalyzed in the past 32 months?
    How many have been found to be drunk?
    How many have been convicted of drunk driving?
    How many have been fined?
    How many have had their license suspended?
    How many have had their license revoked?
    How many have been imprisoned?

    Ministry of Transport and Works Barbados. April 7,2022
    “THE LONG AWAITED BREATHALYSER TESTING WILL SOON BE A REALITY! THE LAW IS HERE AND THE BARBADOS POLICE SERVICE IS TRAINED AND READY TO ADMINISTER THE TEST. SO MOTORISTS, GET EDUCATED, GET SENSITIZED AND GET YOUR DESIGNATED DRIVERS READY, IF YOU DRINK WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE SMART AND TO BE SAFE. GIVE UP YOUR CAR KEYS, CALL A FRIEND OR USE A TAXI. REMEMBER SAFETY ON OUR ROADS IS OUR PRIORITY AND WE ENCOURAGE ALL ROAD USERS TO BE PREPARED FOR THE ROLL OUT OF BREATHALYSER TESTING IN BARBADOS IN THE COMING WEEKS!?”

  12. John Avatar
    John

    No doubt there are some drunks driving in Barbados but by and large, danderous driving is due to a plain lack of consideration for other road users.

    Bajans have been raised of late with no couth!!

  13. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Gentlemen
    Amit and David.
    Thanks for your response.
    I will comment after I am done,

  14. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Gentlemen
    Amit and David
    An apology may be necessary and will be forthcoming but I am still dotting a few i’s.

    I was about to throw in the towel, but the very last story on Amit’s list stated “His death brings to 49, the number of murders in 2019, on the penultimate day of the country’s bloodiest year on record.”

    Interrogating Amit’s database did not contain a murder for December 31. Though I am convinced that Amit is correct it is the unexplained one or two that will take up my thoughts.

  15. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Amit,
    Please allow me to comment on your thoroughness and on the amount of time you must spend on maintaining this information. I went through the first 15 items in your list and and got tired with my review.

    Your dedication to this task is admirable.

    I see now that you pull your information from a number of different sources. The way the headlines are written can lead to a difficult search pattern thus making your achievement even more remarkable.

    Keep up the good work.

    Thanks for the effort.

  16. The OG Avatar
    The OG

    Our AG “Marshall said the 49 murders for 2024 was the highest in the country’s history.” (see below)
    This is consistent with my belief that 48 was the highest previously

    BarbadosToday
    What boys play with just part of a bigger issue
    Today’s Editorial
    As Barbados’ political leadership attempts to address many of the issues confronting society like the destabilising rise in serious crime, there must be an admission that not every problem can be solved through legislation.
    As societies evolve, they are going to be challenged with new and evolving difficulties to which traditional prescriptions may not be as effective as expected.
    Today, the scourge of gun violence is tormenting citizens of almost every Caribbean society. Barbados, though relatively safe with a violent crime problem that does not reach the levels as have affected some of its neighbours, is by no means insulated.
    The island has already reported a record high number of murders, at 49, and residents are hoping that murder cases do not reach the 50 mark.
    Dale Marshall, the island’s Attorney General and Member of Parliament for St Joseph, put it simply, “We cannot continue on our current path.”
    As he addressed the Latin America and Caribbean Security and Justice Summit which was staged in Barbados days ago, Marshall said the 49 murders for 2024 was the highest in the country’s history.
    He conceded there was a need to abandon what he termed outdated crime-fighting methods and for a strategic shift to more sophisticated, data-driven strategies.
    Furthermore, Mr Marshall holds the view that beating back crime will require more advanced and collaborative efforts between agencies and groups.
    It is an entirely reasonable position to take as criminals have become more sophisticated and more diabolical. The mass shooting in The City earlier this year when three men were gunned down and several others injured during an early morning attack on a bar, as well as the reported kidnap, torture and killing of two St Philip men, represented a defining, hellish turn in the manner of crime on the island.
    With the majority of murders resulting from shootings, it is the possession of guns, and access to these deadly weapons that is most disturbing for Barbadians.
    Important also, is the seeming glamorisation of the gun lifestyle. It emanates from the movies, music, video games, and more. This pervasive presence of guns in our cultural and media ecosystem is being blamed, in part, for the situation which confronts this nation.
    In the midst of the search for solutions, has come a proposal from the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations (CTUSAB) for a national ban on the importation and sale of toy guns.
    To many who support the concept, this was a quick, easy fix. Remove the toy guns from the sight of children and half the problem is solved.
    General Secretary of CTUSAB, Dennis de Penza argued that just as marijuana was seen as a gateway drug to much more destructive narcotics, toy guns represented a gateway to the real firearms.
    “This is something I feel very, very strongly about,” de Peiza assessed, arguing that toy guns were providing practice to make perfect the shooting skills.
    In the General Secretary’s estimation any “right-thinking government” that wanted to take action at the base of the problem would pursue measures that attacked the culture surrounding guns.
    Newly minted president of CTUSAB Ryan Phillips comes from a law enforcement background as an experienced and well-respected prison officer who has also served internationally.
    His position on the issue is rather dogmatic. If there is no evidence that toy guns are beneficial to the society, then they needed to be banned.
    There is irrefutable evidence that “mock guns” have been used to commit crimes as the image of gun drives so much fear into the heart of potential victims of crime that there is no contemplation that the weapon could be a fake.
    Those who do not see the point of such a heavy-handed move argue that toy guns have been around for ages, that gun-toting bad men have been in our movies and in the popular Westerns genre, so why deprive children now.
    Taylor & Francis, a British-based company that publishes peer reviewed journals and articles, offered an interesting perspective in a 2021 article titled Boys, weapon toys, war play and meaning-making: prohibiting play in early childhood education settings? The research found that teachers enforced stereotypes that certain toys were suitable for boys and that there was “a greater acceptance of boys’ playing with toy guns and weapons”.
    The point is that a decision on the banning of toy guns is just part of a much bigger issue that requires deep research and not superficial responses.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    Surprise surprise, the obvious question is why is Cheryl Willoughby now motivated to collect data from within the prison? Isnt it an obvious source from the get go?

    Link between education, crime evident

    Today’s Editorial
    We are unsurprised at the disclosure by one of the island’s leading experts in the fight against youth crime that the COVID-19 pandemic conditions may have been fertile breeding ground for what the country is currently experiencing.
    Mrs Cheryl Willoughby, director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit was fairly emphatic in her submission this week that the pandemic has led to a significant increase in youth crime, with the lack of educational support during the many lockdowns and disruptions to education and other important social services.
    The subsequent virtual classrooms that were established may have worked for those with the financial means and support systems to continue their education, but even those students faced some level of trauma as a result of sudden changes in education delivery.
    Willoughby is by no means a neophyte in this business. She has been deep in the trenches of the battle for a very long time, going back to her years as a vocal advocate in the Police Service’s Juvenile Liaison Scheme.
    From her position in law enforcement for 15 years, she would have encountered many youngsters who were successfully diverted from a life of crime through the programme, while others would harden in their ways.
    The Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit director’s credibility is also reinforced by her near decade of work with the National Council on Substance Abuse.
    As she participated this week in the launch of the National Peace Programme’s Livewise Campaign, the technocrat highlighted that pandemic conditions had disproportionately affected young men ages 16 to 18, who were now increasingly involved in serious criminal activities such as the commission of murder, robbery and gun related offences.
    Mrs Willoughby argued that young men finding themselves as offenders in the local justice system had not benefited from “critical support structures, exacerbating vulnerabilities that have now manifested in higher crime rates”.
    In her submission, she posited : “When we examine the data, we recognise that these young people are the ones who did not benefit really from serious sound education during the COVID period.
    “When you go back four years, you’ll recognise that was the time when Barbados literally shut down.”
    As a nation, Barbados was not in the dark about the social issues that would develop from the pandemic, and the need to address them with urgency.
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been alerting the world of the pandemic’s impact beyond the health concerns.
    Governments were rightly consumed with preventing death and the spread of illness, however, there is an admission now that the singular focus on people’s physical health came at the expense of their mental health and social needs.
    In a study, titled “The urgency of educational recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean”, UNESCO warned that if countries did not adopt a systematic and comprehensive response, the consequences of the crisis will affect the learning of students in the region for many years.
    The data in the UNESCO study aligns with what we are hearing from Mrs Willoughby, as it revealed that during the pandemic, there was a significant drop in attendance rates at all educational levels, especially in 2020.
    Circle back to what is happening at the Grantley Adams Memorial School where students have not benefited from in-person classes for almost an entire term, due to yet undisclosed environmental issues.
    Such a scenario, given all that the country has been told about disruptions to education of the country’s children and the long-term impact, what has occurred at the St Josephbased secondary school paints a highly distressing picture.
    The international agencies and local experts are telling the same story – this will not end well for the students, who are already disadvantaged due to societal prejudices against schools where the majority of children enter with low common entrance examination grades.
    Some parents have taken their disgust with the situation to the media; however, it is for the Ministry of Education and the stakeholders to understand that the ill-effects of these circumstances may not be felt now but will certainly emerge at a later date.
    Quality education has been affirmed as No 4 on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Can Barbadians feel comfortable projecting that the country has adequately attained this goal, when hundreds of children in one institution have not received the same level and the quality of education that others across the country have received, over such an extended period?

    Source: BT

  18. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Owen Arthur invented the political tactic of creating a new agency with the appropriate name, whenever we come across a problem that is beyond our capacity to understand and solve, and the folly has continued.
    This allows politicians to point to ’solutions’, whose names mislead BBs into thinking that progress is being made.

    National productivity Council
    Office of Public Sector Reform
    Caricom
    Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit

    So instead of dealing with the shiite EDDYKASHUN mess that we created since Billie Miller, we talking about ‘criminal justice research and planning’, with some clueless UWI graduates writing second rate theses and looking lost on TV …as the crises grows.

    How can we not see that the END is upon us?
    How else can such INEPTNESS be explained?
    There is a saying ‘Once a man, twice a child’, and this seems to also apply to our Earth.

    The Earth was once young and childish, fighting silly wars over nonsence and accumulating material posessions to leave behind.
    Having reached old age, and ready for the departure lounge, we have now become DOTISH and silly, ..as is reflected in practically every shiite that we do…
    National and Global dementia has taken hold.

    Boss, have you tried talking sense to such a dementia victim….?
    Next stop – Obits.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    In this space the majority opinion for a long time is that Houston, we have a problem.

    Criminologist has concerns about youth

    by TRE GREAVES tregreaves@nationnews.com

    NATIONAL ANTI-VIOLENCE school and community strategies are urgently needed.

    Criminologist Lena Weekes made that suggestion as she expressed concern about educational inefficiencies, youth unemployment, the number of teenagers incarcerated for murder and the high number of people under 35 who are serving time at Dodds Prison.

    “Crime is like a disease. To treat to it, we must find its roots. The discipline of social anthropology allows us to take a microscopic look at how people live so that we can critically affect social change in our schools and our communities. We must acknowledge that what may work in one school or community may not work in another one,” she said.

    Weekes cited school disruptions, the International Labour Organisation’s June 2024 findings that showed Barbados had a 19.5 per cent youth unemployment rate and recent studies by the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit, to support the call.

    Concerning

    “There are concerning reports of teachers who face the challenging situation of educating our youth while navigating the myriad of social challenges which are presenting themselves in our schools. There are repeated school shutdowns due to health and safety issues across the island.

    “Further, there have been results of a concerning failure rate in mathematics for students who sit the [Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance examination] over the past few years.

    “Criminologist Kirk Alleyne, reported an alarming trajectory of 900 juveniles who went on to commit serious crimes over a 21-year period in Barbados. Criminologist Kim Ramsay, has noted in recent findings that young people between the ages of 11 to 15 are committing more serious crimes, notably crimes for the acquisition of wealth such as robbery. She further reported that there are 16-year-olds who have been charged with murder,” she said.

    Weekes made those points in a presentation on youth involved in crimes, which she submitted to this newspaper. She expressed further concern about a group of young people at the St Philip correctional facility.

    “The Unit has unveiled that over the past six months, the average age group for people accused of murder was 17 to 18.

    “In our prison population, we currently have ten inmates in the 16 to 18 category; one convicted of robbery and nine unconvicted.

    “The most prevalent offence in that cohort of nine is murder. In September, 51 per cent of the prison population was 35 and under,” she said.

    She added that some criminals were becoming more brazen and were less respectful of law enforcement.

    “There is the existence of a new criminal prototype that is fearless and ruthless in his approach to the commission of crime. Those who rob, steal and kill in broad daylight in public places and in many cases affecting the most vulnerable in our societies, including children and the elderly,” she said.

    She recalled that a violence reduction study was implemented in the prison a few years ago, which she suggested was useful.

    “In 2022, the Barbados Prison Service became concerned about the number of persons who were entering our prison for more serious offences, including murder, firearm possession and use of firearm offences who were also members of gangs in our society. We, therefore, embarked on the formulation of a Violence Reduction Strategy to treat these circumstances quickly. This involved the creation of an Anti-Gang Unit to treat to areas of gathering intelligence and increased security to manage violent incidences. It also involved the sensitisation of inmates about the Minimum Standard Rules for prisoners and the international laws regarding antidiscrimination.

    “We further encouraged them to work with us to create a safe and secure environment for everyone. It is in this vein, that I therefore propose a national anti-violence school strategy and a national anti-violence community strategy,” she said.

    She said the levels of risks at the schools had to be assessed.

    “We must first assess the levels of risks to treat the problem. The proposed strategy for schools will include the following a risk assessment of each school; establishing the root causes of the issues, data-driven initiatives and policies, implementation of a risk management plan, holistic school strategies, increased security in our schools, focus on problem-solving and mediation, treatment for at-risk youth and continuous anti-violence sensitisation.

    The community strategy includes similar steps.

    Psychologist and coordinator of rehabilitative programmes at Dodds Peter Lorde who spoke to the DAILY NATION, said that some inmates come from low-income households and were enticed into getting involved in crime.

    “Sometimes when youth come to prison they are easily led because they don’t have the structure to finish school, go on to college or university. We see a lot of manipulation.

    Can be manipulated

    “It comes down to how you have been socialised to think. Some individuals who are known criminals, go to them with the message ‘if you do x, y, z, I will do something in return’. That could be financial, or even a phone and persons that are poor or don’t have everything can be manipulated,” Lorde said.

    During their incarceration, Lorde said there were drug and anger management programmes they could participate in.

    There were also vocational, educational, arts and crafts, agricultural, and other activities they could enrol in to help with the rehabilitation.

    However, he stressed that when they are released, if the outside environment was not complementary to what they learned, recidivism was likely.

    “When they leave prison, there has to be a continuum. If there is none then persons can go astray and they can get caught up in the wrong activities again and be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They will have to find harassmentfree accommodations,” he added.

    Crime is like a disease. To treat to it, we must find its roots. The discipline of social anthropology allows us to take a microscopic look at how people live so that we can critically affect social change in our schools and our communities.

    Source: Nation

  20. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Of course we have a problem – We CREATED it.

    The idea that simple minded persons who happened to have three years available to spend at Cave Hill enduring and memorizing irrelevant topics, in order to pass predictable exams, are somehow capable of solving the complex social, economic, technological and existential challenges of 2024 is actually HILIRIOUS. (pun intended).

    Our world has NEVER been in such a precarious stage of chaos. The problems and threats are complex, and inter-related. Many are externally driven, and all are further complicated by an overlay of complex technologies that are even more secretive and elusive than the ‘magic’ of the dark ages… instantaneous global communications, 5G technologies, hypersonic speeds and totally open broadcast technologies via You-tube etc.

    Even Solomon would be challenged to make it all work smoothly, but in Brassbados, we do not even bother to try to identify the MOST CAPABLE among us to tackle these challenges.
    We have an electoral system that selects the most ‘popular’ (best shiite talker, promise maker, and likable among us) – with NO REGARD to past competency, indiscretions, failures or CLEAR PLAN for future strategy.

    These shiite-talking jokers then appoint THEIR loyal friends, family, party supporters and lackies to the various policy-making Boards, Public Sector positions, foreign service roles, and then seek to micro-manage them towards achieving their PERSONAL POLITICAL objectives.

    Any competent citizens who ACTUALLY have a positive contribution to make are then ALWAYS seen as trouble-makers, who seek to challenge the elected shiite talkers – and are suppressed. Most move to foreign jurisdictions and seek to make contributions there.. (after which WE then celebrate their contributions to FOREIGN countries)

    What a place!

    It must take a SPECIAL effort to be so self-destructive, WHILE spending wildly on Eddykashun …and on importing the BASICS required for the people to survive.
    …Either THAT, or someone has placed a CURSE on our ass.
    Something that occurs whenever a people turn their backs on the GOD that had specially blessed them, and placed GREAT EXPECTATIONS on them…. seeking instead to become a ‘first world albino-centric’ role model….

  21. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Another murder.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2025/01/30/police-probe-fatal-shooting-in-st-thomas/

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