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Crime Worry – Homicide Statistics for 2024

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Last week neighbouring island Trinidad took the bold decision to implement a state of emergency. The government took the bold decision because of an alarming spike in murders and the use of automatic weapons linked to gang activity. Trinidad has reported 67 murders in December 2024 with total homicides reaching the highest since 2013 of 623. Barbados total murders reached 50 in 2024 the highest ever recorded (see BU’s sidebar).

In statistical terms our situation does not appear to be as dire as in Trinidad BUT we are not far removed. How many Barbadians feel confident that government and relevant authorities have the capacity to clawback the local crime situation? We only have to look at the balloning ‘Zr sub culture’ for an answer.

“We’re going to have a 48-hour holding period where people can be held under these regulations,” Young said. Further, a tribunal is being formed in collaboration with the acting Chief Justice to oversee the legal parameters of detaining people during emergency.

The emergency reportedly empowers the defence forces with the powers of the police. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday also reported that the parliament would be convened in 15 days to determine if the State of Emergency should be extended.

Source: The Indian Express

The blogmaster has been a lone voice calling for the implementation of a state of emergency in Barbados. A bold step to give the Barbados Police Service (BPS) and support services like the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) the opportunity to execute a ‘purge’. It should be obvious to everyone crime has become endemic in our small society and using traditional approaches to search for contraband, choke gang activity, active monitoring and other tactics- like the Transport Authority overseeing PSVs- is not as effective as the situation warrants.

It is interesting to note the State of Emergency implemented by Trinidad does NOT have a curfew and public gatherings are banned. We will have to see how the state of emergency is tweaked to accommodate gatherings for Carnival. In Barbados we have the all year ‘We Gatherin’ therefore it is unlikely the government will implement any outside the box initiative like a state of emergency to prevent 2025 being a year more than 50 murders being committed. Fingers crossed!

In 2023 Heads of Governments in Caricom (HOGs) declared crime in the region a public health crisis. In a crisis one is expected to quickly develop and implement mitigation measures to stem and avert the trajectory of the crisis. While authorities try to address negative behaviours in the home- if that is possible- there is the reality of what is happening on the ground.

Below are is the latest homicide analysis prepared by Amit @caribbeansignal.Combermerians. We thank him for his service.

Barbados Homicide Statistics January to December 2024

The Shop where Jason Lynch, Victim #50, was shot and killed (Image Credit: Barbados Today).
The Shop where Jason Lynch, Victim #50, was shot and killed (Image Credit:  BARBADOS Today).

At the end of 2024, Barbados recorded at least 50 murders (homicides) between January 1 and December 31st. For the same period last year, i.e., January to December 2023, there were at least 21 homicides. This represents an increase of 29 homicides or 138%.

Barbados Homicide Count 2023 vs. 2024
Chart 1 – Barbados Homicide Count 2023 vs. 2024

The number of homicides recorded in December was 2. This represents a decrease of three deaths, or 60%, over the January to November period.

Read more at carinneansignal.com.

Barbados Homicide Statistics January to December 2024

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56 responses to “Crime Worry – Homicide Statistics for 2024”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Report under scrutiny

    Constitution Commission says its position not set in stone

    A SMALL BUT vocal crowd yesterday scrutinised the Constitutional Reform Commission Report prompting the commission’s members to admit there had also been some dissenting opinions among them and the recommendations were not set in stone.

    “During our deliberations, we tried where possible to reach a consensus and where it wasn’t possible . . . [we] made recommendations based on a majority position. But it does not mean that our position is a position that will be adopted by the Government and that’s why . . . we want to encourage continued dialogue and we want to encourage the populace where possible to the fact there is still time, where they feel strong about any area, to contact their parliamentary representative to speak to the Government [on their behalf],” said commission member and former attorney general Adriel Brathwaite.

    He was responding to a submission by former president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and spokesperson on Attorney General’s office and Home Affairs Verla Depeiza, who said she was there “only as Verla Depeiza”.

    Disappointed

    She said she was disappointed the position of president was merely a figurehead instead of carrying out a “meaningful function”, adding it should become an elected position.

    Brathwaite, who served under the DLP 20082018 term in office, told the audience at the Frank Collymore Hall that issue was one which had divided the commission.

    “There were lots of areas where we did not reach consensus but the report obviously does not say which commissioner did not agree with what because we didn’t want to go that direction but what we did do is invite commissioners who really felt strongly about any area to feel free to write a dissenting position.

    “With respect to the issue of the president for example, you’d see that there’s a dissenting opinion from [commissioner senator] Gregory Nicholls, who I remember was very passionate about the fact that he felt that the highest office holder in this country [should be elected] and it’s an area that I believe if the people feel very strongly about it then the door is not closed,” he said.

    Norma Springer did not mince words in a scathing review of the commission and its report. She said it was reflective of “antiquated colonial thinking”.

    “There is no innovative, creative thinking in this Constitution. I am embarrassed . . . it reads like a report that was due the night before. We need citizen committees on every law, act, and whatever is being decided because when I look at the committees, it is the same old, same old has-been minds – the old boys club, the old girls club, the former minister getting a pick and we can go on and on.

    “So we can no longer just have the same minds circulating and circulating. We need new brains. We put millions of dollars into education and we are not seeing the results. They are not active, those minds are not participating in the changing and developing and constituting the new society that we require,” she said.

    Springer highlighted some issues she said were either absent or the commission “refused to touch” such as capital punishment, the right to die and petitions.

    “We have not addressed the issue of petitions. People of Barbados are petitioning every day but what is the point of signing these petitions when no process forces state institutions, whether it’s Parliament or otherwise, to address them?” she asked.

    Chairman of the Commission The Most Honourable Christopher Blackman took exception to Springer’s remarks, saying it was a matter of her opinion.

    “I can assure you that every determination was taken and given full consideration. Merely having a disagreement with the matter doesn’t render it of the view that you may hold,” he said.

    Audience member Peter Thompson spoke out against Barbados’ “biased and unrepresentative” first past the post electoral system, saying the “constitutional crisis” resulting from the two 30-0 election results “disenfranchised a percentage of the population” and queried why the commission had disregarded the recommendations for “less colonial” representation.

    To this, Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles, the Commission’s secretary, said she agreed with him.

    “It was very contentious, there were some who were not predisposed to change and there were some who were supportive [of change]. I agree with him (Thompson) entirely, I leave it there,” she said. ( CA)

    Source: Nation

  2. Terence M Blackett Avatar
    Terence M Blackett

    THE BLOGMASTER CITES THE CONCEPT OF A #Purge BUT HE IS NOT ALONE IN HIS QUEST TO RAISE THIS ISSUE AS WAS STATED ENDLESS TIMES REFERENCING THE PREZ OF SAN SALVADOR #Bukele WHO DID WHAT NO WESTERN HEMISPHERE LEADER HAS DONE IN 50 YEARS

    The #StrawThatBrokeTheCamelsBack came when a “WELL-KNOW PASTOR OF THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH” in TT was “MARTYRED” in cold blood right in front his church after a New Year’s Day Eve meeting (in the full gaze of his precious wife!!!

    Yet, the “DENIERS” & the “GOD-HATERS” spit as if there is “NO GOD” (contriving all kinds of specious & dubious arguments) with “ZERO EXPLANATION” as to the “PRESENCE & PREPONDERANCE” of #EVIL_IN_THE_WORLD!!!

    “BABYLON IS FALLEN – IS FALLEN & HAS BECOME THE HABITATION OF DEMONS – A HOLD FOR EVERY FOUL SPIRIT & A CAGE FRO EVERY UNCLEAN & HATEFUL BIRD”

    #BiblicalDramaticLanguage that touches the mere “TIP” of a “LOOMING ICEBERG” that “SHALL” take down this entire “DEMONIC MAN-MADE SYSTEM” – levelling everything into “DUST”!!!

    If the heart of human beings will not change – stop-gap measures are a band-aid on a “CANCEROUS LESION”!!!

    I firmly believe that humanity has crossed the proverbial “RUBICON”!!!

    #HeavenHelpUs

  3. Terence M Blackett Avatar
    Terence M Blackett

    2025 IS OFF 2 A MAD START WITH GOVs IN LA-LA-LAND, SUFFERING FROM MALAISE, IMPOTENCE & THE SHEER VOLUME OF SOCIETAL EVILS COMING THICK & FAST ARE CREATING A FORM POLIETICAL PSYCHOSIS THAT IS HARD TO INTERPRET

    Almost on cue, “China is experiencing a surge in respiratory illnesses, particularly Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV). This virus has several similarities to the Covid-19 virus…”

    https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/hmpv-outbreak-china-is-it-similar-to-covid-19-virus-pandemic-2659415-2025-01-04

    WE WERE WARNED BY THE GATES OF HELL FOUNDATION – THAT NEFARIOUS CABAL OF LUCIFERIAN SATANISTS WHOSE SOLE WORK IS TO 2 MURDER TWO-THIRDS OF THE EARTH’S POPULATION & TURN A FEW MORE 100 MILLION INTO TRANSEXUALS & AI-ROBOTIC HUMANOIDS

    #WelcomeTo2025

    The intervening years leading up to the “END-OF-THE-DECADE” shall be the most “APOCALYPTIC” in all of human history given the “HANDWRITING ON THE WALL” which men refuse to see (choosing “BLINDNESS” over “VISION”)!!!

    #WhatAWorld
    #WhatACondition

  4. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    There is nothing ‘bold’ about an SMO. All the politicians, elites and blog owners are doing is following the latest fad made seemingly popular in many other countries, over decades – from Belize to El Salvadore. This is no more than obeisance to the same people who have dropped other memes like ‘fiscal space’ previously held on to for dare life, to no end.

    These same politicians, elites and owners of blogs who insist that they hold some power to influence what they deem as deviations from some perceived social order have never stopped murders on American television beamed into every Bajan household and indeed have never presented any real counter to the leading means of murder produced within the United States or the culture of violence exported whence.

    Those who pretend to be calling for SMOs are in essence admitting the sickness that they have long lost the control, real or imagined, which they believe they, as elites or self appointed guardians of notions of order, no longer hold.

    The center cannot hold and will never so held again! In fact, this cultural band-aid will never cover for the wickedness which has been encouraged by politicians, elites and blog owners who in the quintessential Bajan manner can now do no better than to unearth fanciful notions from their useless and unremarkable personal histories to superimpose on a degenerative social culture which they themselves have long suborned.

    When all fail, elites normally take us to war! That that war is now being advanced by those on the socio-economic margins is the predictability of the grapes of wrath.

  5. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    We still don’t support any State of Emergency. We are just fooling ourselves that we cannot go after those who are contributing to our current crime situation. It’s the same with white collar ; plenty fancy talk but at the end the game continues.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    This we know and your position is respected but we have to do something out of the normal?

    Another shooting this morning involving KFC employees by the way.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DEfHh3ypOY1/

  7. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Everyone is now predicting DOOM and GLOOM – well after the shit is ricocheting off the big-donkeyed fan.. BUT there may be some hope…

    Much like our current Health crisis –
    ..where brass bowls spend their whole lives eating shiite, living fast, ignoring good habits, focused on gluttony, sexual gratification, materialism and influence over other brass bowls…. then when the diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis and every possible ailment INEVITABLY knocks, they at A&E looking for a magic hospital cure.

    We have been warned now for GENERATIONS of the wages of brassbowlery…
    – but the soca and the parties were TOO sweet
    – the bumpers and the wining too addictive
    – the $$$millions in the bank and the BMWs funded by the banks too appealing…
    – and the political power, influence, and adoration by BBs were MUCH too good to pass up.

    So now it is diabetes time.
    …it is high blood pressure in our donkeys
    …all kinds of cancers afflict our burros – mostly inflicted via foreign owned entities

    Hear this!!!
    The time to address this problem was BACK in our YOUTH….
    …with good habits – grounded in LOVE, RESPECT, Community-centricity, and LOVE FOR OUR CREATOR- and seeking the perfection that was ordained for us.

    Even into our middle age, we had the opportunity to CHANGE, and to repent of our brassbowlery – and to ADOPT good habits….

    But no…. we wanted to be ‘first world’ (ie – top of the albino-centric class)
    ..we measured our performance by GDP, FOREX, and FDI. (ie how much we have in the foreign owned bank, how many fetes we attend per week and how many different sexual experiences we could accumulate)

    So now we are in the Casualty line at QEH – and cannot even find a chair to sit in – far less a doctor – or even a nurse..

    So what were you saying about a state of emergency Boss..??!!

    Face it…. as sure as the sun will set tonight.
    Like ALL those individual BBs who have reached this stage in life, we – AS A SOCIETY, are well on the path to Westbury or Coral Ridge.

    The GOOD NEWS is that this SHOULD be a call for some, to have SERIOUS reflection and introspection.
    God is merciful.
    Sackcloth and ashes – representing genuine repentance have been known to bring impressive results – even at the very point of destruction.

    Case in point was- Ninevah – one of the original ‘Brassbados models’… that was full of misguided BBs – BUT who God (for some reason) loved immensely…

    What a time….
    What a GREAT Creator…

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    The blogmaster does not have the answers to what are complex problems. What is known is that we have dug a hole for ourselves and traditional approaches will not save us.

  9. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Bushie

    How come you know so much shiiiite but don’t know this?

    https://youtu.be/LLF3PWieN_8?si=mK6C514NHWQjmgVs

  10. Terence M Blackett Avatar
    Terence M Blackett

    ALL THESE CARIBBEAN LEADERS SHOULD TAKE AN (un)HOLY FIG-LEAF FROM #DUSTBIN_CASTRO_TRUDEAU – “RESIGN” & “WALK 2 HELL AWAY”

    #GoodbyeBlackFace

    DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE ARSE ON YOUR WAY OUT

  11. Goeht Avatar
    Goeht

    It would probably be good if the blogmaster describes what happens in his state of emergency. Recently, the South Korean presidents declared martial law but the country felt tis was uncalled for.

    I will tell him that a state of emergency is more than a buzzword like climate change or resilience. I will assume that the blogmaster’s fridge is still well stocked from the Xmas season and thus the limitations brought about by an SOE will not have an immediate impact on him.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    A state of emergency can be tailored to achieve certain objectives and do not have to be draconian at first instance.

    The authority to do targeted searches by cordoning streets to search persons/vehicles. Surprise checks by special units to inspect unstuffing of containers. Too much criminal activity occur under the jurisdiction of Customs.

    Require the installation of more robust camera surveillance at non traditional locations etc etc etc.

    Many other tactics can be ordered.

  13. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    There are no differences between a state of emergence and a special military operation to control crime.

    It fact, with a state of emergency, the failures to deal with crime see the military or paramilitary called upon to support the police to enforce additional police powers.

    People or suspected gang members or people seen to be the target sub-population have their rights abridged, specifically. The while population in other ways.

    For the military is not primarily a policing force and has therefore been trained to kill people. Whereas that thinking is not generally seen as the main law enforcement function.

  14. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Bush Tea “…well on the path to Westbury or Coral Ridge.”

    FACT: From the time we breath our first breath we have a date with death. It has always been so.

  15. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Another shooting.

    https://nationnews.com/2025/01/06/shooting-incident-leave-two-kfc-employees-injured/

  16. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Any approach to tackling crime must be multi-faceted.

    As I have stated before in this forum – there are three categories into which people fall. There are those who are bad to the bone, no matter what their circumstances. There are those who would not consider crime an option, no matter their circumstances. And there are those who will swing either way, depending on their circumstances.

    Those in the swinging group are the people we stand a chance of helping with education, training, opportunity, encouragement, support and love. Give them hope, a welcome mat and a foot in the door, and they will be good.

    The first group, according to criminologist Kim Ramsey, just love the thrill that going against the law provides. They are adrenaline junkies who “will not stop until they are dead”. This fits in quite nicely with my theory, just from studying human beings in my amateurish way.

    There will always be violent “organised” crime. Our aim should be focused on reducing it to manageable proportions. The police service would be enough to handle that.

    It is far more costly to leave the second group hanging than it is to address their issues. I saw a video where the men who were brought into a truce said that their truce was still holding, but the promised initiatives had not yet materialised. These recent murders are the doings of different groups, they say, as I had already deduced from the locations of the flare ups.

    Stetson Babb has taken to “The Streets” for a weekly programme. I have not seen anyone mention it here.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    Barbados will wait until matters escalate further before taking form and decisive action.

    No earth shattering revelations in Babb’s videos that were not discussed in this space through the years. Back when we were commenting about weeds protruding on the lawns, now bush.

  18. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Whether a state of emergency (SoE) or a state operated enterprise (SoE) the sum total is the same.

    For neither the enterprise nor the emergency will deliver any results to stop or stem the rise in violence, the consolidation of resources into fewer and fewer hands.

    Bajans should likely expect that with the emergence targeted neighborhoods will be surrounded and checkpoints placed at all entrances exits, presumably to confine certain actors to their dwellings.

    Gangs members and others deemed to be troublesome would likely be placed into custody without the permissions of courts.

    The PM may see an opportunity to further develop what some see as her relationships with some people said to have a checkered past.

    Of course, these have implications for the sense of what being a Bajan must mean, democracy, freedom, justice, etc

    And more!

    All! If what happens elsewhere is any indication.

    Promises made to ameliorate social conditions will eventually be seen as ineffective under capitalism. Not dissimilar to the longer history of Barbados especially the Moyne Commission Report of the 1930s/40s, the findings of which were never implemented fully.

    The country has been here times before!

  19. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Searches and seizures of houses and cars, normally illegal without a warrant, will add to the number of guns taken by the police.

    Of course, the quantum seize of cash, drugs, etc will also spike!

    Depending on duration, crime in general and murder in particular will see decreases in the short term.

    The character of the country will continue to change.

  20. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ SS
    “FACT: From the time we breath our first breath we have a date with death. It has always been so.”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    For a number of reasons, Bushie will not argue with you…
    HOWEVER, when you get the time between your ZR jaunts, look up the meaning of ‘WELL ON THE WAY To….’
    SBSH…!! (shaking Bushie’s stinking head..)

    @ David
    “The blogmaster does not have the answers to what are complex problems. “
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    What complex problems what??!! These issues CANNOT be any simpler.

    When God created mankind ‘in his own image’, in almost EVERY DAY-to-DAY area of his creation these ‘complex’ issues are played out, for ANYONE with eyes to see, .. to see.

    Bushie used the example above our of National Health management – where personal choices throughout one’s life culminate into the KIND of retirement and ‘end-of-life’ that person will enjoy.
    We see this lesson EVERY DAY all around us, and yet increasing numbers opt for the wide and easy path, rather than invest in a successful future.

    Lazy BBs who are unproductive, but who yet expect to be fed, clothed, protected and educated by others, are advised to refer to the ants for lessons of how it is ordained by Nature.

    What could be simpler than:
    1 – Love your neighbor just like you love yourself
    2 – Love God (Seek after perfection) with all your heart.

    It also helps to;
    3 – Stop listening to Pacha’s highfalutin expositions, various intellectual epistemological rantings, and anti-Bible forays.
    LOL
    murhuh!!

    Although -notwithstanding item 3, Pacha is correct about the State of Emergency option..
    ha hah ha

  21. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Pacha who asked…
    Bushie …How come you know so much shiiiite but don’t know this?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Boss
    Bushie only knows what is revealed.
    So how would he know the answer – when the bushman cannot even figure out the question?
    If you think that you will get Bushie to watch that two-hour, you-tube, click-bait – just for your intellectual thrill, THINK AGAIN… in that time the Bushman could meet up with Cuhdear and enjoy two conkies…

    YOU watch Dr Greer, and let us have the question…. 🙂

  22. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Bushie
    Yuh putting the dagger in muh!

  23. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    The problems may not be complex on the surface but to clawback from current state is where the complexity lies.

  24. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    “….but to clawback from current state is where the complexity lies.”
    ~~~~~~~~
    Only because you may be looking for ‘solutions’ in the wrong places…

    A bright fella once advised that “we cannot solve major problems by using the same thinking that created those problems in the first place”.
    It will take a whole new problem solving approach to address this existential challenge.

    Bushie proposes that the approach which has been outlined by the original CREATOR of the whole shebang, is the best option for us.
    Given the DISMAL failure of the ‘brassbowlery approach’ which has been championed by the albino-centrics of our world – surely this is now a no-brainer… ya think?

    …unless the brainwashing has been so thorough, that we are mentally chained to our fate.
    What a world.
    What a time.

  25. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    “Bushie
    Yuh putting the dagger in muh!”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    LOL @ Pacha,
    You would prefer de mushroom…?

    With the dagger, at least you can go down in history with the quote …‘et tu Bushie?’
    but…
    Your mushroom will even vaporize history itself….

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    You have come full circle, what will serve as the catalyst to trigger the change you lament?

  27. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    We are still of the opinion that this entire crime debate has been overblown and @ Bushie is absolutely correct. The response to fighting crime, ironically falls into the same category of failure in several areas and a reluctance to simply admit that we are allowing brassbowlery ; and still determined to sweep poor management and almost embarrassing inefficiency under the carpet to protect the political class.
    As @ Pacha correctly states , these approaches inevitably become cosmetic and stunningly superficial. Neither a day of prayer or a journalist pretending to be on “ the street” interviewing citizens would solve the importation of drugs or the proliferation of guns .
    A society that ignores economic quality is just as susceptible to malignant socio economic turbulence, as one that would ignore racism and other inequalities and elect dysfunctional and ill-equipped leadership.
    Small Caribbean societies are in pursuit of passing goals , tests and standards , set by the modern imperialists. As long as we continue to follow the new Massa , we can expect crime and other negatives to literally over run our societies and keep us mentally and economically enslaved to those who have never seen us as more than smiling faces on white sands and in blue watered oceans, who apparently do not know or understand our true worth

  28. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    It is not about the pretender, Stetson Babb. It is about the people on the streets and what they are saying. And true, they have said nothing new. I guess, just like some of us on BU, they have to say it until somebody actually hears and takes action.

    For all those who think that crime is not work – I posit that it is actually harder work than I have ever done. I get to relax and sleep with both eyes closed at the end of the day. The gangster must be in a twenty-four hour state of readiness.

    This misconception that these guys do not want to work is not helpful. It is not that most of them want something for nothing. Our systems have failed many of them.

    And yes, the exploitative capitalist system is at the root of the problem. There is also no doubt that the culture of materialism, self-indulgence and individualism is a killer of every society, as is the abandonment of belief in “something greater than me”, whatever that is. And, I am known in this forum for being well aware of the effects of racism in this country and worldwide.

    However, until capitalism is no more, and racism is purged from among us, we must manage to contain the effects within our small space, if we want to survive. I believe that it is possible.

    But not probable, considering how slowly we move around here.

    Still, contrary to what has been said, Ms. Mottley has shown herself to be fully aware of the shifting sand under the USA and its systems.

    I posted a video on the Are they earning the 200,000K blog.

    Seems like nobody noticed.

    Sooo…Ms. Mottley bristled at the idea that Barbados, due to its close proximity to the United States of America, should rightly be “in the United States of America’s sphere of influence”.

    Yes, that is exactly how the incredulous interviewer framed it! Apparently, all we can hope for is to be “satellites” who follow the “leader of the free world”!

    Ms. Mottley was having none of it. She slapped him down and declared that the times, they are a-changing and that the United States of America had better get ready to accept a multi-polar world.

    Yes, Ms. Mottley has said it out loud and on the world stage. Unfortunately, the people of Barbados aren’t being adequately educated or prepared.

  29. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    What are you suggesting, we throw our hands up and do not try to stem the tide by starting somewhere?

  30. David Avatar
    David

    A few years ago @William St. Kitts was being terrorized by criminals; murders etc. we should learn from what they did although the environment maybe different compared to Barbados.

  31. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    What are you suggesting, we throw our hands up and do not try to stem the tide by starting somewhere?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Get real Boss!!
    William is clearly suggesting that instead of looking for complex ‘advanced calculus’ solutions, we should spend some time trying to solve the BASIC ‘similtaneous equations’ FIRST!

    If our damn jokers cannot get a simple hospital casualty to work – after YEARS, and unlimited taxpayers dollars..
    – cannot get CBC to make a basic profit..
    – cannot solve BASIC pothole, ZR, sewerage, solid waste, transport, water issues..
    – cannot even produce BASIC ACCOUNTS for a National Insurance Fund – after DECADES…

    How the Hell do they solve ‘crime’?
    .. by setting up a commission,
    ..or by hiring abtalk show host?

    If we CANNOT crawl, how the HELL we expect to be able to run – far less walk?

    William is clearly on point.

  32. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    “…although the environment maybe different compared to Barbados.”
    ~~~~~~~~~
    Got THAT right Boss…
    No other place is like Brassbados – where the people are HAPPY to hand their country over to foreigners, and hope that they will be ‘kind’ masters…

    Certainly NOT St Kitts.
    But THEY never had the Slave Code like BB….. nor the kind of Judas leaders we have…

  33. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    Far from. The irony is that this morning , they were playing : Me Hands Tied by RPB on the radio. Whose hands tied now ? We simply believe that we are embracing a talk talk culture and the issues, not only crime , continue to fester. Remember how we were supposed to get kitchen gardens to solve the problems with the high prices of vegetables. So, to bring down the price of eggs, should we raise more yardfowls. Always some wishy wishy inferior solution. In the meantime, Corey Lane has launched more programs, all well intentioned, but is there any way of measuring them in the reduction of crime. And we can go on and on………but what difference would it make if we accept the nonsense going around the place.
    Hopefully, we would have less than 50 murders in 2025 and we would certainly hear them braying and 2024 would be soon forgotten until some year comes along and we reach 51. And then we will start the foolishness all over again.
    BTW, as was stated above between 2023 and 2024, the murder rate increased by over 100 percent. Reduce that to about 30 percent next year and we’ll be rejoicing.
    It’s not throwing up our hands , it’s just a matter of realizing that we seem to be running around like headless chickens.

  34. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    We have to try to fix one at the expense of the other? Again, we throw our hands in the air because somethings have not worked in the past? We have to keep trying?

  35. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    I t gets quite depressing.

  36. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    “….we throw our hands in the air because somethings have not worked in the past? We have to keep trying?”
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    Boss, when you get a break from your baseless optumism, look up the definition of ‘madness’….
    – something to the effect of doing the same shiite over and over ..and expecting different outcomes.

  37. John2 Avatar
    John2

    @ David.

    I made the suggestion a few years ago when they had the gun amnesty and I now support ur call to for a state of emergency. I am totally against giving police powers to the BDF but I support the assistance TBPS as they have done in the past

    There is no one method that will solve the crime problem but a SOE will be aimed at keeping the gun off the streets and will dampen the rate of MURDERS (as has happened in Trinidad). The Thugs will now have to think twice about moving around with a firearm in their possession

    This is not a fix it all and is not meant to be but it is a tool that can be used when we have unusual spikes.

  38. David Avatar
    David

    @John2

    We need to remove guns from the hands of the lawless and the only way is to give enforcement the authority to operate ‘aggressively’. The beast man/pig culture has mushroomed in Barbados to the point these idiots are protected by family and friends.

  39. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    I don’t understand why anyone needs to make snide remarks about kitchen gardens and yard fowls.

    Those of us who keep kitchen gardens and yard fowls are never hungry, even during the dread days of the pandemic we did not get nor did we need baskets of food from the political class, so of course we don’t owe them anything. We do ot owe them our vote. And of all the groups in society we are least likely to shoot anyone–or to be shot by anyone– although we could do with a gun…for the monkeys, not for anybody’s son.

  40. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David who said;
    “We need to remove guns from the hands of the lawless and the only way is to give enforcement the authority to operate ‘aggressively’…..”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    You are slowly coming around to understand the complexities of managing for success in the real world.
    You are now calling for the GOOD GUYS (the Law) to assume the role of society’s bullies and take control away from the WICKED (unlawful) thugs who have taken control..

    You may recall our extensive debates on ‘Bullying’ when you and BU joined with the bleeding hearts calling for an end to all bullying in school etc – a world where softies get to live happily afterwards – free from the torment of A-type personalities such as Bushie.

    Well Bushie begged to disagree.
    Bullies are a NATURAL and critical component of Nature’s arsenal for the deployment of effective leadership.
    Like everything else in life, there are GOOD bullies, and there are WICKED bullies. Unfortunately they all start out alike as children – with very similar traits, so if you clamp down on young bullies, you inadvertently kill off potential TOP CLASS LEADERSHIP talents.
    We have done this successfully in Brassbados, thanks to the lotta female and effeminate teachers and administrators who all see ANY kind of ‘bullying’ or conflict as bad, and to be condemned. Interestingly, they have NO ISSUE with bulling…

    Back when we had sense, our REAL bullies were teachers, policemen, priests, politicians, parents (especially mothers) etc – but DEFINITELY Headmasters were top bullies (it seems to have been the KEY quaification for the job).

    The bad boys were outcasts, as our ‘good bullies’ ran things.

    Now that we have suppressed potential REAL leaders in the schools – and elevated the softie men and lotta women into ‘leadership’ positions, there is NONE able to CONTROL the wicked… whose bully days are nurtured on the blocks…

    Your SoE is just a stop-gap attempt to get back to the natural balance that was wisely ordained by Nature…(and spelt out in the manual that urks Pacha).
    We have to see how our new breed of policemen, effeminate principals, and even softie soldiers (who are too soft to work in Haiti) will fill the roles needed…

    Their impact on the ZR class to date does not give us a lotta hope….

    “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin “

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    Here is the biggest irony using the shooting in the Pine at the play park locale last week as an example. Many of the adult residents calling for increased police presence and for the government to improve security know who the bad boys are, know who are the ones ‘controlling’. It seems we are slowly but surely nurturing garrison communities on our small island.

  42. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Correction to an earlier post – it was Cheryl Willoughby and not Kim Ramsey who said that some criminals just love the thrill of crime.

  43. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    we gatherin ?

    https://nationnews.com/2025/01/09/shooting-in-st-lucy/

  44. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    update.

    https://www.cbc.bb/news/local-news/unnatural-death-reported-in-st-lucy/

  45. David Avatar
    David

    Gun violence stems from anger, neglect

    For many, life had become a series of survival instincts, dictated by the pain and darkness they had endured since childhood.

    This article was written and submitted by chairman of Drug Education and Counselling Services, Pastor Roger Husbands.

    The gun violence engulfing our nation today is not just a crime problem – it’s a symptom of a much deeper issue. It stems from years of anger, hatred and despair among individuals who feel abandoned by society and have given up on both themselves and the world around them. This nonchalant attitude we see – where life is devalued and death no longer feared – comes from a minority of people who have decided to care only for themselves because, in their view, everyone else has forsaken them.

    I recall starting an anger management course in one of our institutions, conducting assessments to gauge the techniques needed for young offenders aged 17 to 25.

    Their cries were not just for help, but for understanding. Beneath their hardened exteriors lay hearts filled with hurt, hatred and a chilling emptiness – a “blackness” devoid of emotion, regret or hope. For many, life had become a series of survival instincts, dictated by the pain and darkness they had endured since childhood.

    Emotional disconnection

    Many of these young people grew up in communities that unintentionally nurtured their anger and pain. Years of unchecked abuse, neglect and despair have created individuals who act out what they know – violence and survival.

    Community members, aware of their struggles, often turned a blind eye, fearing involvement might bring harm to themselves. This silence, while understandable, allowed the pain to fester and transform children into “monsters” shaped by their suffering.

    These young offenders are not born violent; they are shaped by circumstances. Many have endured severe abuse as children and grew up being “parented” by the streets – a breeding ground for darkness and despair.

    Churches, once pillars of community support, became focused on numbers and programmes, leaving those on the blocks crying out for help. Even when the Bible called for labourers in the harvest, fear and complacency held many back.

    Meanwhile, parents, overwhelmed by their own struggles, did the best they could to cope. Mothers, abandoned by absentee fathers who spread their seeds without accountability, bore the brunt of the responsibility. They tried to provide but often lacked the capacity to address the emotional needs of their children. For the child, this neglect bred sorrow and resentment. They began to wish for another life, another family, another chance. Yet, in their torment, they found comfort in the darker paths – paths that allowed them to hide, to act out and to survive without judgement.

    Years of mistreatment have led many to stop caring altogether. One young man chillingly remarked, “What life? I am a walking dead”. For him, and many like him, death is no longer a threat but a release from the torment that lives in their minds. Life, for these individuals, has shifted from living to merely surviving – a grim competition to avoid being the next to die.

    Ripple effects on society

    This survival mentality is reshaping our communities into battlegrounds. Social media comments like “Let them kill out themselves” reflect a dangerous misunderstanding of the issue. This isn’t a problem that will resolve itself. Induction into this dark world happens every second.

    The cycle of neglect, pain and violence is perpetuated and the longer we ignore it, the more entrenched it becomes.

    It’s easy to dismiss these individuals as “lost causes”, but doing so ignores the harsh reality that their actions are affecting all of us. Every shooting, every life lost, is a symptom of a broader societal failure. And while many of our young people are thriving – overcoming adversity, excelling, and making positive contributions to society – this minority, shaped by years of neglect and pain, is having an out-sized impact on the safety and well-being of our nation.

    2025: A year of urgency

    Based on my research and observations, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of heightened challenges. Families will need to band together, not just to provide for their loved ones, but to protect them. The threats and violence we are witnessing are likely to increase and the time for action is now.

    Parents, community leaders, churches, schools and Government agencies must take their roles seriously in moulding and shaping the next generation into loving, caring individuals.

    The responsibility lies with all of us. We must step into the gaps where society has failed these young people – offering mentorship, guidance and real opportunities for change.

    It is not enough to lament the state of our nation. We must actively work to build one where no child feels the need to find comfort in violence, where no young person believes they are a “walking dead” and where no family feels abandoned by the systems meant to support them.

    The journey to change will not be easy or quick. It requires a collective effort – parents, neighbours, community leaders, educators and policymakers – to address the root causes of this crisis. We must provide emotional support, economic opportunities and a sense of belonging for our youth. Churches must return to the streets, schools must foster trust and connection and communities must no longer turn a blind eye to the struggles of their neighbours.

    If we fail to act, the cycle will continue, pulling more young people into its dark embrace. But if we rise to the challenge, we can begin to transform despair into hope, anger into healing and violence into peace. It starts with understanding and it starts with us.

    Source: Nation

  46. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    badongbam. There are reports of a shooting at Kirton’s, St Philip.

  47. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DEu1Z_fp_NO/

  48. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    51?

    https://www.cbc.bb/news/local-news/shooting-death-in-st-philip/

  49. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEu_EsKJ-69/

  50. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    It is a new year therefore a reset. Check BU tracker .

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