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Facing a dramatic and deadly upswing in gun-related violence across the island nation, Barbados’ Minister of Legal Affairs Michael Lashley has announced a far-reaching overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system, anchored by three core pillars: the long-awaited reopening of the shuttered national forensic laboratory in July, groundbreaking anti-gang legislation, and the integration of cutting-edge smart technology into modern policing.

Lashley made the landmark announcements during the official opening ceremony of the renovated Haynesville police substation – a facility he frames as a tangible “symbol of reassurance” for local residents shaken by the recent spike in violent firearm incidents, including a high-profile shooting in Oistins that has left widespread public anxiety in its wake. The event drew a cross-section of attendees, from senior leadership of the Barbados Police Service to local community members and fellow government officials, where Lashley laid out a clear timeline and actionable framework for the multi-phase strategy.

The most consequential development for Barbados’ judicial infrastructure is the confirmed July reopening of the forensic laboratory, which has remained dormant for years. For decades, the country has relied on offshore forensic testing to process crime scene evidence, a system Lashley argues has been plagued by critical failures: contaminated samples during transit, extended case delays, and even collapsed prosecutions due to lost or incomplete scientific evidence. Once reopened, the facility will eliminate the need to ship samples overseas, putting critical evidence linking suspects to crimes directly in the hands of investigators and prosecutors within the country. “No longer will the cases be delayed because police officers have to send samples overseas to labs,” Lashley told attendees, emphasizing that a fully functional local forensic lab is a non-negotiable “vital component” of a fair and efficient criminal justice system.

The government’s strategy is structured around short, medium, and long-term interventions that target both the symptoms and root causes of rising violent crime. A central pillar of the approach is a “whole-of-country” response that leverages advanced surveillance technology to target high-crime hot spots and individuals who have been leveraging violence to hold communities hostage. Lashley confirmed that the administration is moving forward with deploying smart policing tools that will boost patrol visibility, enhance community monitoring, and create a more proactive security presence in areas where residents report feeling unsafe.

Drawing on his decades of experience as a defence lawyer, Lashley identified systemic delays in the country’s court system as one of the key drivers of persistent violent crime. To address this bottleneck, he proposed a streamlined judicial process for simple firearms possession cases, which would move to trial using only four key witness statements from the arresting officer, a supporting backup officer, a court records clerk, and a certified firearms expert. Echoing Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s directive to cut unnecessary red tape, Lashley noted that the current system regularly takes one to two years to bring simple firearms charges to trial – a delay that undermines public confidence in the rule of law. “Let us speed up the system. Let us work on getting the disclosure and the files ready so that a man who is charged with a firearm offense is before the court to answer the charge,” he said.

To back this court reform, Lashley confirmed that the government is 95% finished drafting new anti-gang legislation and updated Criminal Procedure Rules designed to enforce mandatory timely trial deadlines. Beyond enforcement and judicial reform, the administration is also prioritizing prevention and rehabilitation to address the underlying social conditions that push at-risk youth toward gang involvement and criminal activity. Pointing to local youth initiatives like the popular Haynesville Drummers performance group as a successful model, Lashley called for expanding support for the National Peace Programme and the Juvenile Liaison Scheme, both of which work to redirect vulnerable young people into constructive, character-building activities instead of prosecution. “Rehabilitation and communities working together can only help those who went afoul of the law to come back into society and make a contribution,” he noted.

Lashley also issued a sharp warning to individuals who aid violent offenders, announcing that the government is considering harsher criminal penalties for anyone convicted of harbouring or assisting wanted criminals. The Haynesville police substation, the first of a series of new community-focused policing facilities Lashley plans to roll out across the country (he prefers the term “substation” over the older “outpost” to reflect their permanent, community-embedded role), has already sparked requests for similar facilities from residents in other areas including Ellerton.

The opening ceremony concluded with a dedication from Reverend Lucille Baird, who echoed Lashley’s call for judicial efficiency, reminding the audience that “justice delayed is justice denied” and pledging her ongoing community commitment to the Haynesville area. Closing his address, Lashley ended with a public appeal for greater parental responsibility, urging Barbadian families to put down digital devices and rebuild the intergenerational social bonds and shared values that long served as a bedrock of safe, stable communities across the island. “We are interested in formulating policy. We have to make the criminal justice system right… ensuring that Barbadians are safe,” he said.

On Monday, the government of Barbados issued a public call for ramped-up, cross-community action to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV), coinciding with the launch of a two-day capacity-building workshop hosted at UN House by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Barbados’ Bureau of Gender Affairs. The event centers on strengthening coordination mechanisms for addressing gender-based violence during humanitarian and public emergencies.

Speaking at the workshop’s opening, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Adrian Forde emphasized that the battle against GBV requires unwavering effort, no matter the broader social or environmental context. “Gender-based violence permeates every corner of our society, full stop,” Forde stated. “That means our fight has to be consistent and equal, regardless of whether we are confronting a natural disaster or a period of relative stability.”

Forde pointed to data collected after Hurricane Melissa impacted Jamaica as a stark illustration of how crises exacerbate existing gender inequalities. When disasters strike, he explained, women bear a disproportionate burden of harm. “When water infrastructure fails, that creates unique challenges for women. Shortages of food, basic supplies and menstrual hygiene products hit women far harder than any other demographic during a disaster,” he noted.

The minister outlined the progress Barbados has already made in building a coordinated national response to GBV. Back in 2019, the country’s Cabinet approved the formation of a National Committee on Gender-Based Violence, which was given the mandate to draft a comprehensive national action plan to tackle the issue. Operating through the Bureau of Gender Affairs, the committee launched structured stakeholder coordination meetings the same year to strengthen existing response systems, and Forde praised the body’s progress to date.

“Thanks to the committee’s data collection and planning work, we are now in a far stronger position to outline exactly what steps Barbados will take to protect vulnerable community members from harm,” Forde said.

Even as he celebrated progress, Forde stressed that significant gaps remain, particularly in resourcing responses to GBV during emergencies tied to the climate crisis. He framed equitable resourcing for women in crises as a matter of climate justice, noting that there is an urgent need to get mitigation and adaptation resources directly to women when disasters strike.

“This is a fair and entirely just demand,” Forde said. “This government is committed not just to listening to the painful cries of women across our country, but to delivering concrete action that responds to their needs.”

Beyond policy and systemic change, Forde made clear that eliminating GBV requires a whole-of-society approach that engages every member of the public. Every person has a role to play as an active participant in the fight, he argued: when abuse is witnessed, community members cannot stay silent. “If you see someone being abused, you have to do more than just notice it. You have to speak up, alert authorities, and offer help when it is safe to do so,” he said. “That same selfless, proactive approach matters just as much when our country is facing a natural disaster.”

Forde added that the government is also working to strengthen the country’s legislative framework to ensure courts handle GBV cases with appropriate firmness. Legislative reform is a critical pillar of the national response, he explained, because strong laws must underpin all efforts to combat violence. “The message we send can’t just come from ministers and stakeholders at the table. It has to be backed by our legal system,” he said. “We are committed to making sure that cases of gender-based violence are met with the full force of the judicial system.”

In a landmark 77-page written judgment delivered last Friday, High Court Justice Dr. H Patrick Wells has thrown out a bid by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to force the liquidation of local general insurer Equity Insurance Company Ltd, ruling the regulator failed to meet the legal threshold for its request and that pushing forward with winding-up proceedings now would fatally undermine an ongoing statutory appeal process launched by the company. The ruling leaves the door open for the FSC to re-file its application at a later date, with Justice Wells noting the regulator may renew its request at the earliest once the pending appeal before the FSC’s own Appeals Tribunal reaches a final resolution. He further added that if the tribunal experiences unreasonable delays in concluding the case, the FSC retains the right to approach the High Court for procedural directions.

The dispute between the regulator and Equity Insurance stretches back to August of last year, when the FSC seized operational control of the company and moved to revoke its general insurance license, citing long-unresolved violations of multiple financial sector regulations and what the commission described as ongoing risks to the interests of the insurer’s policyholders. Equity Insurance contested that decision, arguing the FSC’s action violated fundamental due process requirements, and launched a statutory appeal to the recently established FSC Appeals Tribunal, which is currently reviewing the challenge.

Outlining the core legal reasoning behind his ruling in a five-point conclusion, Justice Wells clarified that the commission is not legally required to proceed under Section 57 of the Insurance Act, noting the regulator’s choice to pursue winding-up under Section 56 of the legislation was a discretionary decision it was entitled to make, despite knowing the associated legal requirements. He also struck down the FSC’s key legal argument that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act governs any liquidation of Equity Insurance, pointing out that insurance firms are explicitly excluded from the scope of that act under the statutory definition of “corporation” laid out in Section 2 of the legislation.

Most critically, the justice found the FSC had failed to establish a prima facie case sufficient to convince the court to grant leave for a winding-up petition. “There are substantial and genuine disputes on the alleged facts that challenge the basic premise of the reasons for seeking leave to present a winding-up petition,” the ruling read, noting that the lawfulness and reasonableness of the FSC’s decision to revoke Equity Insurance’s license remains the central question before the Appeals Tribunal. Justice Wells emphasized the tribunal is a statutory body explicitly created by parliament to hear appeals from regulated entities aggrieved by FSC decisions, and overriding that process would not only deny Equity Insurance access to justice, but also erode the institutional integrity of the tribunal, rendering its statutorily mandated proceedings meaningless.

The judge further added that nearly all of the core factual claims the FSC relies on to support its winding-up bid are already being challenged in two active legal processes: the appeal before the FSC Appeals Tribunal and separate pending judicial review proceedings in the High Court. On the procedural matter of security for costs, Justice Wells explained that the question only arises if the court first determines the FSC has successfully established its case for leave. Once that threshold is met, the court sets a reasonable amount for security, and leave is only finalized once the security is provided; failure to meet the requirement results in leave being denied. He added that courts retain the discretion to accept a formal undertaking as security in exceptional circumstances, even if the practice is uncommon.

The ruling also confirms a prior decision from the FSC Appeals Tribunal handed down during a March 12 case management conference, where tribunal chair and retired High Court judge Christopher Blackman rejected the FSC’s request to suspend Equity Insurance’s appeal. Blackman noted the FSC had been aware of the opportunity to request a suspension from the High Court prior to appearing before the tribunal, and had chosen not to do so, meaning the tribunal could not grant the stay at that stage. “If they wanted me to stop, they should have asked the High Court. If the High Court had issued an order, so be it. But don’t pass up the opportunity to go to the higher court, and then come back to me. No, sir. You went up there. Ask up there. Don’t ask me,” Blackman said at the time.

The FSC Appeals Tribunal is scheduled to hold its next procedural session on April 30 at 10 a.m., where members will review progress of the case to date, set a timeline going forward, and schedule a hearing for the substantive appeal, which is expected to take place between late May and early July. In addition to dismissing the winding-up bid, Justice Wells awarded costs to Equity Insurance, with the final amount to be agreed by both parties or assessed by the court if no agreement is reached. Senior Counsel Larry Smith, Alrick Scott SC and T’Shara Seal are representing Equity Insurance in the proceedings, while Garth Patterson SC appears for the FSC.