Murders up in Barbados

(Barbados Nation) Murders have been on a steady increase since 1997 and of late guns are becoming the weapon of choice in the committal of violent offences.

This was revealed yesterday by leading research officer of the National Task Force on Crime, Kim Ramsay, who conducted a study on homicides in Barbados between 1980 and 2010, and disclosed the findings at the National Consultation on Violence at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

She told the audience which included magistrates, representatives of Government departments and NGOs, there were 662 murders over the past 30 years, which was relatively low compared with other countries.

Ramsay said more than 90 per cent of the murders were committed by males, the majority of whom (79 per cent) were between the ages of 15 and 35, while 75 per cent of all victims were also male.