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Statistics can be deceptive. When weaponized they can be fatal!
For to say that one more murder in a selective period represents a 50 percent increase over the last year for the same period, though true, hardly gives us any useful information
The truth is that similar increases and decreases can easily be observed along any yearly period. Proper analysis would have required the presentation of at least one other data point contrary to the one given. Better yet, a series of data points where increases and decreases were observed, even within the narrow time period selected.
So to see this here increase as of any particular significance may hold political intent but serves no other meaningful purpose.
Last time such a footnote was editorialized here this writer argued that within the overall picture there was reason for hope. That Barbados is still early within this cycle of increasing crime and had a better chance than others to bring these levels of crimes, murders, back into normal ranges or lower.
Somebody retorted that there was no hope of this. Again weeee double down on the assertion made then, even if purely as a statistical matter.
This writer has no particular hatred for the regime. And certainly will never betray deeply held values to follow idiots.
Is a 20 year old research paper of which present Governor of the Central Bank Kevin Greenidge was a contributor still relevant?
https://www.centralbank.org.bb/viewPDF/documents/2022-02-21-05-30-27-wp2001-10.PDF
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it” is a quote by Frédéric Bastiat.
Explanation
Bastiat was the author of The Law.
The quote means that when a group of people in a society begin to consider plundering as a normal way of life, they will create a legal system and moral code that supports it.
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This quote is almost 200 years old!!
Yet, it sums up exactly, what has happened in Barbados since Independence.
The legal system and moral code that have been created in Barbados supports criminal activities, one of which just happens to be murder.
Pacha, I see that you beat me to it.
You are on point.
I am hoping that you resist the urge to claim to be a statistical expert or historian.
I think you made a similar post before. It is as true now as it was then.
Bastiat gives the shortest and most accurate description of Barbados.
Obviously one has to invoke meaning to the reading of the stats. It is month 2 and clearly as the year progresses one can do better year over year and even apply time series analyses to the data that is available. What is obvious is that the trend from the raw data is heading in the wrong direction, there are the social and economic variables which we know will not improve the situation e.g. aggressive deportations by the USA, harsh economic conditions etc. Barbadians on the ground are also in a position to consider anecdotal information and general observation. We have elected officials emboldened to invite unsavoury characters to official functions, an elected government refusing to repair\replace for whatever reason port scanners. Last but not least we have the HOGs agreeing that crime in the region is a public health crisis. In the same way some will suggest we cannot opine on local matters without considering what is happening in the international space, the same can be said that we cannot analyse local crime matters without considering what is happening in the regional and international space, especially in the context of HoGs being bullish on CSME and unbridled freedom of movement.
What the rh more do we need to know?
A footnote to the last comment from the blogmaster. There is no improvement on the horizon.
The inability of our politicians to treat crime as a priority. What is the status of the Crime Commission installed by Mottley chaired by Velma Newton?
Why did the DLP decline to participate because it was doing its ‘thing’? Where are the recommendations from the DLP? The blogmaster apologizes if reports from the two were made public.
David Avatar
David
March 2, 2025 at 10:19 am
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Last but not least we have the HOGs agreeing that crime in the region is a public health crisis.
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We even have one HOG seeking to declare gangs as terrorist organisations.
It should be noted that generally speaking, HOGs in the region are themselves members of criminal gangs.
The problem with the Bastiat scenario, is that whereas the INTENT of the initiators is to have these convenient ‘Laws’ designed to their exclusive benefit, Tom Poochie and the duppy soon adopt the very same – AND EVEN MORE DRACONIAN, standards for themselves.
It is why societal crimes are simply REFLECTIONS of leadership vision, morals, lawfulness, and most critically – ACTIONS.
How is it REALLY a difference between ministers of government overseeing the thief of $60 Million from HOPE – WITHOUT an investigation or any repercussions …
…and a drug dealer importing $60 Million in illegal drugs, guns and hired hitmen?
How is it REALLY different, when a PM slaps down a senator FOR SAYING EXACTLY WHAT 90% of BARBADIANS think about the Holetown sell-out…
…and a gang leader decides to ‘slap down’ one of his opponents who falls out of line?
leading to routine arbitrary murders…
A country is a REFLECTION of the leaders they ALLOW to rule them.
(…so the USA is WAYYYY up shit street over the coming months and years – for example)
But then again …so is Brassbados.
Geoht
Thanks, but was unaware of Bastiat’s work, who is he or she, where is the work available.
Well, if you’re not at least a piece of a statistician and a piece of an historian, all is then lost.
Maybe Bastiat suggested that there is also a statistical possibility, though inconsistent with the variations of mean, mode and median range, where Barbados may go through the rest of the year and not another murder is committed.
In these extreme circumstances, those who now hollering fuh blue murder will be saying what a wonderful job the regime has done😃😜🤢
Your comments are well-grounded whether a professional historian and statistician or not!
LOL @ Pacha
Boss, you playing dat you don’t know TheOG..???!!
Bastiat shiite!!
Bushie figured that Goeht mek up that quote – to make some old obscure French ‘economist’ – (what ever the Hell those are…) look good…
..but um sounds good – so Bushie ain’t complaining.
You does tek dis ‘research’ thing too far sometimes boss…
LOL
ha ha ha
@Amit
Do you have information on the number of missing persons in the last three years for example? There is a heavy suspicion that many missing persons were murdered.
“Claude-Frédéric Bastiat was a French economist, writer and a prominent member of the French liberal school”
@Pachamama
For to say that one more murder in a selective period represents a 50 percent increase over the last year for the same period, though true, hardly gives us any useful information
The truth is that similar increases and decreases can easily be observed along any yearly period. Proper analysis would have required the presentation of at least one other data point contrary to the one given. Better yet, a series of data points where increases and decreases were observed, even within the narrow time period selected.
So to see this here increase as of any particular significance may hold political intent but serves no other meaningful purpose.
***************************
1. Re selective period, 50% increase. Fair enough, and a valid point. I will look at my count for Feb in previous years, and update my post. I was just doing current vs. previous year.
2. My intent is not to be political and never has been, and never will be. I could try to categorize homicides by political constituency, or look at homicides over the years in terms of which party was in power. However, that is not my angle nor aim. I read, I count and I do basic analysis on what is reported. Not sure how others may use my data, or try to spin it in a way that satisfies their respective agendas.
I do what I do because there is a lack of publicly available data on homicides and analysis beyond what is reported in the media and by government officials/agencies. When that changes, I will happily stop my project.
Going further, this is a solo effort, and a time consuming and at times depressing one at that. Many hands make light work. If I had the help of even one more person, the data and analysis would be more extensive, but never political, but alas, it is what it is.
For now, I will continue to read and count as best as possible.
@John said
“Yet, it sums up exactly, what has happened in Barbados since Independence.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actually it sums up what has happened in Barbados since 1627.
@David
Sorry, I have no data on missing persons. Will do some searching during the week. Might make for an interesting pivot.
Peter L. Thompson
March 2, 2025 at 1:45 pm
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@John said
“Yet, it sums up exactly, what has happened in Barbados since Independence.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actually it sums up what has happened in Barbados since 1627.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There was no cash in Barbados prior to Independence to plunder!!
Independence brought grants and loans administered by the plunderers.
Some seriously deep shit is wrong with John Knox.
Press ignore button!
“There was no cash in Barbados prior to Independence to plunder!!”
~~~~~~~~~~~
True!
It was all PRE-PLUNDERED by the absentee owners.
We have been able to beg, borrow, and squeeze some crumbs back, – since independence.
But now our enlightened ‘leaders’ are selling the plantations, de beaches, we businesses and the utilities – back to new absentee owners – and somehow hoping for different outcomes this time around…
Most residents of Jenkins are NOT that mad…
What a place!!
What a clown show…!!
Bush Tea
March 2, 2025 at 2:22 pm
1 Vote
“There was no cash in Barbados prior to Independence to plunder!!”
~~~~~~~~~~~
True!
It was all PRE-PLUNDERED by the absentee owners.
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Most of the land in Barbados was owned by the generations of people who lived in Barbados until recently.
Few plantations were owned by absentee owners.
Check the Queree Papers in the Archives.
Besides, most land units were small because until the advent of steam in the mid to late 1800’s, milling capacity was limited by the tiny horsepower of windmills.
Sugar was at best a breakeven crop.
A good war however could make it profitable.
So, the economy in Barbados really boomed in WWII and the years up to Independence.
After Independence, plunder set in.
The profits of the brief sugar boom during and after WWII went into the Deepwater Harbour, Bulk Handling Facility, QEH and Seawell and in purchasing the field and factory equipment needed to expand sugar production.
Barbados itself generated little cash to plunder, too tiny, this still is the case.
Difficult to fight this simple physical limitation of size.
The cash these days comes mainly out of money laundering activities tied up with the realization of assets.
From 1627, the English settled on the island, wiping away any traces of the original inhabitants, the Arawaks, who had lived here for centuries. People with good financial backgrounds and social connections with England were allocated land in this new colony; Barbados’s strong connection and staunchly British attitude earned it the title of Little England. The English turned Barbados into a slave society, a slave economy, which would be replicated in several parts of the “new world”. It was known as the “jewel in the crown” of the Caribbean. It is a history that we can never be proud of, but one that we must understand.
So why are we looking to the Big England for salvation today?
Barbados was a jewel in the crown for three reasons, none of which begin with S.
Location, Location and Location!!
What has changed is that crossing the Atlantic does not rely on winds and currents so Location is no longer of any consequence.
Go look at the population growth in the 13 American colonies and you will see why Barbados and the Leewards were so valuable …. and it wasn’t sugar.
It doubled every 20 years or so.
In 1675, 200 ships passed through Barbados on their way to and from those 13 colonies and the exploding market there.
Sugar, rum and molasses were trifling in quantity.
Do the math.
If the population doubled every 20 years or so, the number of ships probably exploded also by as much as a factor of 5, probably less as bigger ships would reduce that factor.
Bushie
Sorry man. Yes, of course, we’ve know Claude-Frederic Bastiat as a theorist, economy.
Could not possibly think that he was the one since we were talking about statistical methods and crime.
Amit Uttamchandani
We understand well that research at any level is always bedeviled by an insufficiency of information. Big data and AI are responses to the greater and greater need for information.
Your efforts are to be encouraged.
Also know that the more strenuous areas of our first response were not aimed at you or your organization particularly and are best understood as a installment on a more acromonious set of interactions posted previously.
I read about this a few hours ago – Armed robbery, shooting. Apple Hall, St. Philip. March 1st.
Thanks Amit. These are the type of incidents that have to be considered to correctly assess the crime situation.
No quick fix to crime
Right approach is key, says head of agency
by JOSUÉ RAMIRÉZ NELSON
THE PROBLEM OF CRIME in Barbados and the region is manageable given the right approach.
The view is shared by directors of the Caribbean Safety Agency (CSA), a training initiative primarily owned by Barbadians who served in law enforcement and militaries in the United Kingdom and United States.
In an interview with the DAILY NATION, co-director of the agency, Anthony Leacock, said the path towards resolving criminal elements does not come with “a quick fix” and requires the right equipment, resources and mindset.
“I see the situation as not impossible to deal with; you can get ahead of it but we need the right people, the right mindset, equipment, resources,” he said.
“It’s not going to be a quick fix. They’re going to have to be meticulous. They need guidance and leadership as well as leaders that know what they’re doing and are trained to investigate these types of offences because they’re going to have to guide the officers into the next step,” he added.
A retired member of the London Metropolitan Police, Barbadian-born Leacock draws on his experience as a top-level criminal investigator with more than 20 years’ experience, managing investigations on anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, terrorism security, organised crime, sexual offences, child abuse and online sexual exploitation.
As a member of the newly founded CSA, he seeks to bring law enforcement training to the Caribbean. The agency has been in the background supplying training to the Regional Security System for more than ten years.
In October, the veteran lawmen created the formal entity with an aim to provide more consistent and specialised training across the Caribbean and here in Barbados.
“We are a relatively new initiative . . . So we’re now trying to get ourselves out there and get ourselves known so we can get started and bring law enforcement to the standard that we know Barbadian officers and other Caribbean officers are capable of getting there,” he said.
Expanding on the agency’s training methods, Leacock noted that theprogramme is about training officers from the ground up, leading them in basic detective training, advanced detective training, training in sex crimes and sexual offences and teaching officers to be more victimfocused than suspect-focused.
“Our focus on the victim is about the delivery of the service,” he said.
“We’re looking at suspect interviews because often you tend to view all suspects in the same way – teaching that kind of strategic way to interview suspects depending on the level of crime that they’re committing.
“We’re looking at teaching officers how to investigate online sex crimes, online child abuse crimes. So, we’re looking at dealing with indecent images of children, distribution, sharing, uploading, downloading, viewing, that sort of stuff,” he added.
The veteran lawman said he kept a close eye on the crime situation in Barbados, and in the process shared some of his insight into the criminal elements in the country.
Urgent action
Drawing on his experience, he expressed an urgency for more proactive action and the use of technology on behalf of police, a focus on community policing and human resources intelligence.
“I would like to see the police being more proactive in getting out ahead of these types of crimes, because Barbados is small and you know word travels really quickly, so we would invest more in community policing.
“The Barbados Police (Service) also needs to look at developing source units like human intelligence. We’re looking at developing, properly and correctly, human sources of intelligence, so if word gets out that someone is going to get caught or that there’s a hit on him, we just need to go and grab him off the street and bring them into protective custody for their own safety,” he said.
Leacock also touched on the propagation of illegal firearms, and stressed the need for border reinforcement and deeper investigations into personnel at key access points.
“Again, we need the right resources. It’s all going to be down to resources – human intelligence, and equipment, and having the right people in the right places. We know firearms are coming into the island. We know they’re coming illegally. We just need to identify where the hot spots are and who the people are – start developing proactive investigations against these people. But again, to do that, we need resources – manpower, and equipment. Again, that’s what it’s going to come down to – investment,” he added.
Source: Nation
Findings will be shared
KEY FINDINGS from the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit’s (CJRPU) research and the Barbados Crime Observatory (BCO) will be shared with stakeholders when the department hosts a series of strategic meetings this year.
Director of the CJRPU, Cheryl Willoughby, said the meetings will provide a platform to review recent data and analyse it, identify emerging trends, and discuss potential strategies to address crime-related challenges in society.
She disclosed that the first meeting would be held on Thursday and the findings from the BCO shared. About 40 participants, including from non-governmental organisations, criminal justice agencies and the media, will be in attendance.
Willoughby said the BCO was established in 2012 and revamped in 2022.
“The BCO is part of the country’s wider efforts to enhance crime prevention, law enforcement, and public safety through data-driven strategies. Its creation marks a move toward evidencebased policymaking in the criminal justice sector and highlights the importance of comprehensive crime data in tackling social issues.
“The BCO collects data from various sources, including police reports, courts, correctional institutions, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Probation Department, Dodds Prison, and the Government Industrial School. This data is analysed to identify trends, hotspots, and emerging patterns that can inform effective responses,” the director explained.
Willoughby underscored the importance of research, saying it plays a crucial role in reducing and preventing crime by offering evidencebased insights into the trends, causes, and impacts of criminal activity and behaviour.
“This enables policymakers, criminal justice professionals, and other stakeholders to develop and implement effective strategies to prevent or reduce crime, improve the justice system, and make informed, datadriven decisions, rather than relying on assumptions or anecdotal evidence.
“In essence, research is important because it guides the development of targeted crime prevention intervention to address crime effectively,” she said. (BGIS)
Research alone cannot shape society
IT IS ALWAYS refreshing to read the work of fellow writers, especially those who passionately argue for what we have come to embrace as “evidence-based theory”. This approach insists that our beliefs, decisions and policies be grounded in research and empirical data.
While I appreciate the importance of evidence, I cannot help but question whether it should be the sole determinant of how we shape our societies – especially when it conflicts with moral and spiritual principles.
The prevailing sentiment today is that our past experiences and personal convictions must be supported by tangible evidence to be validated. While this may hold in scientific research, medicine, or legal proceedings, should it also dictate the core values of our society? Are we to accept that the moral and spiritual compass that has guided civilisations for centuries should now be replaced by data alone?
Take, for instance, the argument that boys can become girls and girls can become boys based on their feelings and identity. If research from the United States or the United Kingdom suggests that this has no significant negative impact on children’s behaviour, should we, without question, adopt it as a societal norm? Or should we still rely on spiritual and moral reasoning to guide our decisions?
Immoral evidence
Evidence-based theory has undoubtedly revolutionised many aspects of governance, education and social policies. However, it has also been used to justify practices that, at their core, contradict long-standing moral and spiritual values. Everywhere we turn, institutions require evidence-based justification – whether it is for policy formulation, funding allocation, or even the recognition of basic truths. But what happens when that evidence supports something immoral or spiritually harmful?
Do we ignore our conscience and embrace it simply because it is backed by data?
This is the challenge of our time: a world driven by facts and figures, yet, increasingly detached from deeper ethical and spiritual discernment. If we allow evidence alone to dictate our future, we risk losing the moral fabric that holds societies together. While evidence-based research has its place, it should not become the ultimate authority on all matters, especially those concerning our values, identity, and sense of right and wrong.
Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves: Are we shaping our culture based solely on research findings, or do we still recognise the wisdom found in moral and spiritual traditions?
The answer to this question will determine whether we build a society that thrives not just on knowledge, but on truth, integrity, and righteousness.
– ROGER HUSBANDS
Source: Nation
Barbados Garrison Headquarters and Fort was Britain’s largest Military area in the Western Hemisphere and was the slave port for the shipping of human cargo in it’s nefarious transatlantic slave trade.
The Police and Military will always want more Government spending in continuous insatiable requests for bigger budgets at the expense of social spending for the taxpayers and community. Drug wars and gang wars are part of the Hegelian dialectic paradigm.
“Hegelian dialectic, or problem, reaction, solution. This method basically involves fabricating or intensify a problem, offering a draconian solution, then settling for a “compromise” that nevertheless furthers the intended goal.”
The first specified an issue (problem) and related it to a major social concern (reaction), and the second advocated an action (solution). For example, “crime is a regular feature of every- day life (problem), we are all potentially victims (reaction).
555dubstreet
March 3, 2025 at 5:03 am
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Barbados Garrison Headquarters and Fort was Britain’s largest Military area in the Western Hemisphere and was the slave port for the shipping of human cargo in it’s nefarious transatlantic slave trade.
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Where were these slaves shipped from Barbados?
Have you ever heard of a country called India?
The Brits had armies stationed there.
How many military personnel were ever stationed in Barbados?
The number of slaves in British overseas possessions was small compared with the numbers in Brazil for example. The Dutch provided Brazil with slaves, …. and Surinam, not the English.
At emancipation, there were 800K freed in all British possessions, Barbados had 10%, barely 80K.
I would like you to see if you can find where the other 720K slaves in British possessions at emancipation resided and educate us as you educate yourself.
@Amit
Some good information in this article which supports concern about crime trajectory with guns.
Firearms crimes a major concern
Firearm crimes and armed killings are responsible for there being more crime recorded in 2024 than in 2023, reports the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit.
During yesterday’s strategic planning meeting in Baobab Towers, Warrens, St Michael, where the unit presented an overview of crime for 2024, senior research analyst Kirt Goodridge said Barbados had to get a handle on gun crime.
“So what we’ve seen in 2024 is that there’s been a very alarming increase in the use of firearms. Not just the murders, but the use of firearms overall. Firearms have become a significant issue in different areas. Up to this morning, there was another shooting,” he said.
Pushed up rates
Goodridge said the people using guns were becoming increasingly younger with the average age of perpetrators falling between 17 and 26 years old. He said it was firearm-enabled crimes which “single-handedly” pushed up crime rates last year.
“If we were to take away the murder rate, crime would have actually gone down last year. So we see the importance of stopping these firearm-enabled crimes. Firearm-enabled murders actually accounted for 34 of the 49 murders that occurred last year, so again, if you take away those 34 firearm-enabled murders, we fall below the threshold of what happened in 2023.
“I want you to pay special attention to the use of firearms because that is an issue that we need to address. We need to figure out how to stop it, stop the importation of [firearms], how to stop them from being used on the streets and how to encourage young men and young women to use means other than firearms to settle conflicts,” he said. To hammer home his point, Goodridge said Barbados’ current murder rate per capita was 18.2 people per 100 000, the highest it has ever been. “On the current trajectory that we’re on right now, it looks like we’re going to be in line for another similar year to last year unless we can get some sort of initiatives and programmes and things in place to curb this crime rate,” he said.
Increases
In giving more statistics, Goodridge said crime had increased by 0.44 per cent. There were 6 228 reported crimes in 2023 compared to 6 236 reported crimes in 2024. He said some of the notable statistics were increases in major crimes against the person and property assault increases, as well as minor crimes against the person.
In citing increases in statistics, he pointed to drug-related crimes by five per cent, deadly crimes by 16 per cent and white-collar crimes by 271 per cent, fuelled by theft of money.
Goodridge admitted their work was hampered by their parameters as it did not account for unreported crimes or things such as road rage and vehicular manslaughter. However, he said they were in the process of revamping to utilise a different model which would include such information.
Director of the unit, Cheryl Willoughby, said it would take a complete approach to curb crime, as the police could not do it on their own.
“We remain concerned about the number of murders and shootings. And the need now to stop focusing on the incidents of crime and focus on the risk factors, the causes and how we collectively can work together to help those young people in these high-risk communities who are experiencing problems.
“The police cannot always be in a position to prevent crime. They can only respond after it has occurred, so it takes residents and people working together to identify children who may be at risk of committing such crimes. It is important we work collectively and collaboratively, similar to what occurred when we had COVID, when the whole island was activated. We are now at a critical stage as far as citizen security is concerned,” she said.(CA)
Source: Nation
STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
The following are some of the firearmrelated crime statistics revealed at the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit’s strategic planning meeting yesterday.
• There was a total of 400 firearm-related crimes in 2024, an increase of 14 per cent when compared to 2023, which had 350 reported firearm-related crimes.
• Firearm-enabled murders increased by 162 per cent, from 13 in 2023 to 34 in 2024.
• Use of a firearm increased by 129 per cent, with 31 more cases compared to 2023.
• Endangering life increased by 50 per cent, with 14 more cases compared to 2023.
• Assault with intent to rob increased by 33 per cent, while other crimes committed with use of a firearm also increased by 33 per cent, though in both cases, this represented a single case more.
• Possession of a firearm increased by three per cent, two more compared to 2023.
• Possession of ammunition decreased by 20 per cent, as there were 14 fewer cases compared to 2023.
• Aggregated burglary decreased by 16 per cent.
• Other firearm-related crimes, which include crimes such as possession of a firearm, magazines, conspiracy, offering to supply a firearm, offering to supply ammunition, all decreased by 100 per cent. There were zero reported cases last year when compared to nine in 2023.
Source: Nation
We had our first gun appearance in a road rage incident yesterday.
YOU WERE WARNED RIGHT HERE IN THIS SPACE. IT WILL NOT BE THE LAST!
Road rage ends in gunfire at Sherbourne
Two men are in hospital, with an alleged assailant nursing gunshot wounds, after a road rage dispute spiralled into a shooting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC), at Sherbourne, Two Mill Hill, in St Michael.
Police have confirmed that the confrontation, which began on Upton Road, St Michael, ended outside the conference centre as a cyclist clashed with a bus driver who turned out to be armed with a pistol.
Police spokesman acting Inspector Ryan Brathwaite reported that authorities responded to a call regarding the shooting at 8:22 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found two men with injuries and immediately summoned emergency medical personnel. The injured men were stabilised at the scene before being transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where they remain in “critical but stable condition”.
“Our initial investigations indicate that this incident originated from a case of road rage,” he said at the scene.
“A cyclist confronted a bus driver over an earlier altercation on Upton Road. The situation escalated into a physical confrontation, during which the cyclist attacked the bus driver. In response, the driver, who was in possession of a licensed firearm, discharged several shots, injuring the assailant.”
The extent of injuries to the bus driver was not immediately available.
Inspector Brathwaite assured the public that no students or other individuals at the LESC were involved in the incident. “This remains a matter of road rage between two individuals. The police have the situation under control, and our investigations are ongoing,” he said.
Dean Straker, chairman of Barbados Conference Services Limited, which manages the LESC, acknowledged the incident and reinforced the centre’s commitment to safety.
“Preliminary reports indicate that a Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) shuttle driver was confronted by an individual who entered the premises on a bicycle after an alleged traffic-related dispute. The individual became aggressive and struck the shuttle driver, who then responded by discharging a personal firearm,” Straker explained.
He gave assurances to the public that security remains a top priority at LESC and that management is cooperating fully with law enforcement. “We are working closely with Ross University to safeguard students, faculty, and visitors.
Our team has been in direct communication with RUSM’s administration to provide support and reassurance,” he said.
(SZB)Source: BT
Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce promised to get back to Barbadians about the outcome of an investigation into the slapping of an individual by a policeman on Kadooment Day 2024. Barbadians continue to wait.
The same BFS will expect cooperation from citizens to ensure it can do the best job to serve and protect. Feel free to discuss the action of the officer captured in the video below for 5 points.
Read the following article very carefully, the last couple paragraphs for sure.
PAYMENT SHOCK
By Maria Bradshaw
The decades-long practice of judges ordering interim payments in personal injury matters has come to a screeching halt.
In a recent ruling, the Court of Appeal determined that a judge had no jurisdiction either in statute or under the court’s inherent jurisdiction, to make such an order.
The decision has left some in the legal fraternity in limbo, as they told the Sunday Sun it could have dire consequences for many injured parties who were already suffering from the long delays in such matters and depended on the payments for surgeries, medical care or incidental expenses.
They are now calling on Government to have interim payment orders legalised as a matter of urgency with one senior attorney pointing out that to wait could put more pressure on Government’s already ailing social services and health care system.
Shot by police
Ironically, the decision was as a result of an appeal brought in the name of the Attorney General challenging an order by a High Court judge for Government to make an interim payment of $100 000 to Omar Durant, who was shot by police multiple times about the body in 2006 and who suffered “catastrophic injuries”.
Durant was travelling in a car with Jamaican brothers Richard and Milton Gordon when police ambushed the vehicle and opened fire on them along Brighton, St George, killing Richard on the spot. Durant, who worked with one of the brothers and was on his way to a bar with them, sued the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police, as well as police officers Shawn Dawe, Anthony Hall and Gladstone Worrell.
On February 26, 2021, a judgment was entered in default of defence with damages to be assessed in March 2023. However, on that date, the AG’s office was not ready to proceed and requested an adjournment. While the adjournment was granted, the judge ordered, among other things, that Durant be paid $100 000 on or before June 12, 2023, with interest thereon at a rate of six per cent per annum or $16.44 per diem from that day until payment.
The AG’s office appealed this decision and requested that the order for interim payment be set aside or reversed. Attorneys for the AG submitted that Barbados had no jurisdiction to order an interim payment. They also argued that the making of the order in the manner which was employed by the judge was procedurally incorrect and that the Supreme Court had no inherent jurisdiction to grant an interim payment before final adjudication of an action, while submitting that such a jurisdiction must be given by an Act of Parliament.
Attorney Verla De Peiza, who represented Durant, in response charged it was the custom of the courts in this jurisdiction to grant interim payments, particularly in personal injury matters which, she said, was an integral part of the fabric of the law.
She pointed out that the legislation authorised the Rules Committee to make rules for the effective management of interim payments. She called the appeal an abuse of process and an attempt to circumvent compliance with the order of the court.
In determining whether the judge had jurisdiction to make the order, the Court of Appeal noted the case was “somewhat novel in this jurisdiction and the facts were unusual”.
The judges said: “Undoubtedly, the jurisdiction to grant interim payments is highly valuable. This jurisdiction must be, however, grounded in either statute or be part of the inherent jurisdiction of the court. To conclude, the court cannot provide jurisdiction to exercise the power to award interim payments where there is no statutory authority. The Rules Committee is authorised only to make rules to regulate the power to award an interim payment. It is not clothed with the authority to confer such a power on the High Court, that remains within the bosom of the legislature.
“We allow the appeal, on the ground that the trial judge had no jurisdiction either in statute or under the court’s inherent jurisdiction to make an interim payment order in this matter. Therefore, the order for granting an interim payment to the intended Respondent is null and void and must accordingly be set aside.”
During a coroner’s inquest in 2009, Durant said after the police sprayed the vehicle with bullets he got out with his hands up and said: Officer, I am only 18 and I don’t want to die. Help!’” Durant said he was ordered to lie face down on the ground and when he complied was shot several times about the body.
“I heard ‘clax! clax!’ and the shots jumped me. I felt shots in my belly and my leg. I was in shock and I heard two more shots again and I felt a shot in my right shoulder, but I could not see who was shooting because a light was shining in my face.”
He said he heard a voice ask: “What are we going to do with the little one,” and someone answered: “We will say he was in the back saying ‘shoot them! shoot them’.”
” Police reported that the incident, the 37th homicide for the year”
https://nationnews.com/2025/10/08/father-killed-during-robbery/
Another young man shot dead.
and another.
“Police are investigating a fatal shooting at 3rd Avenue, Chapman Lane, St Michael, which occurred around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday.”
City of Toronto 3 million people. Murders as of yesterday 41.
Barbados populated estimated at 282,623. Murders as of yesterday 49.
@ Hants
If you plant yams, …what the Hell else do you expect to reap …potatoes?
Read the Trinidad or Jamaica news over the last 40 years… back when Barbados was safer than Toronto…
If OUR politicians open our doors, systems, ownership opportunities, investment options to DIFFERENT cultural seeds, then what kind of FRUIT would you expect to sprout up…?
Rather than seek to spread our good, OLD, VALUES across the region, we pushed the CARICOM shiite by REMOVING all our protective barriers (while the others KEPT THEIRS IN PLACE YUH!!) … thereby allowing NEW cultural seeds to be planted here – and without EQUAL opportunities for OUR traditional unique traditions to spread outwards.
When we go there, WE HAVE to do like the Romans in Rome, …while they are able to bring Rome to Brassbados and do as they are wont…
Where there is no VISION, the people ALWAYS perish… routine public executions are now routine for our new reality…
Shiite, they don’t even BOTHER to put the murders and mayhem in the news now…
Not for Social Media, it would be like drinking milk…
Fortunately, the shiite politicians generally tend to some of the first at the punishment gates for lack of vision.
What a place!
What blindness!
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