标签： Barbados

Authorities with the Barbados Police Service (TBPS) have issued a public appeal for assistance as they work to track down Dwayne Marlon Drakes, a man also known by the alias “Oily”, who is wanted for questioning linked to a series of serious criminal cases.

Law enforcement has released a detailed physical description to help members of the public identify Drakes. He stands roughly five feet seven inches tall, has a slim build and a dark complexion. Distinguishing marks include a noticeable scar on his forehead, a text tattoo reading “for the wages of sin is death” inked on his left hand, and a cross tattoo on his right hand.

TBPS confirmed that Drakes has two last known addresses on file: one on Denny Road in Thorpes, Saint James, and a second on 1st Avenue, Park Road in Bush Hall, Saint Michael.

Police have formally advised Drakes to surrender voluntarily to investigators at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) based out of the Black Rock Police Station. The guidance notes that if he turns himself in, he is permitted to be accompanied by a legal representative of his own choosing.

Members of the public who have any information about Drakes’ current location are urged to reach out to law enforcement immediately. Tips can be submitted directly to the Black Rock CID via phone at 417-7505 or 417-7500, the 24/7 police emergency line at 211, the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-8477, or any community police station across the island.

In a final public reminder, TBPS emphasized that knowingly hiding or providing aid to a wanted individual is considered a severe criminal offense under Barbados law. Any person found to have aided Drakes or concealed his whereabouts will face prosecution and corresponding legal penalties.

A violent public altercation in the heart of Bridgetown has left a female victim hospitalized with multiple stab wounds, and law enforcement officials have confirmed that a suspect is now in custody as the investigation into Monday’s incident moves forward. The attack unfolded at approximately 5:45 p.m. local time at the busy intersection of Nelson Street and Fairchild Street, located in the St. Michael district of the country. Immediately following the stabbing, personnel from the local Central Police Station launched an official probe into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Preliminary law enforcement briefings indicate that the violence grew out of a verbal dispute between a male suspect and the female victim that quickly escalated beyond control. In the aftermath of the confrontation, the woman was found to have suffered multiple penetrating stab wounds, requiring urgent emergency medical intervention. Emergency ambulance crews were dispatched rapidly to the scene, where they provided first aid before transporting the injured woman to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the primary public medical facility in the region. As of the latest update, the victim remains at the hospital receiving ongoing care from clinical teams; authorities have not yet released an update on her current condition. In a statement released this week, police confirmed that the person of interest in the case is now in detention at a local facility, and is currently assisting investigators with their ongoing inquiries. To speed up the progress of the investigation, law enforcement has issued a public appeal for any members of the community who may have been present at the intersection during the time of the incident, or who hold any additional details that could help advance the case, to come forward with information. Witnesses or anyone with relevant tips can reach out to the Criminal Investigation Department (Central) via the dedicated contact numbers 430-7189 or 430-7190, contact the 24/7 police emergency line at 211, or submit anonymous information through the international Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-8477.

A devastating late-night traffic collision on Codrington Road in the St. Michael district has left one person dead and a second with minor physical harm, local law enforcement confirmed Tuesday. The deadly two-vehicle crash unfolded at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Monday, according to official reports from the police department. First responders and emergency medical teams rushed to the accident site immediately after receiving distress calls, but their efforts to revive the driver of the first vehicle were in vain. Medics officially pronounced the male driver dead at the scene after detecting no vital signs. By contrast, the operator of the second involved vehicle escaped with only mild injuries and was quickly taken to receive urgent outpatient medical care. In the wake of the incident, investigating authorities have launched a public appeal for community assistance to piece together the full sequence of events. Any individual who was present in the area at the time of the collision, observed the crash unfold, or holds any piece of information that could advance the official inquiry is asked to reach out to investigators at District ‘A’ Police Station. Tips and statements can be submitted directly via two dedicated contact numbers: 430-7242 or 430-7246. As of Tuesday morning, police have not released additional details such as the identities of the involved drivers, the potential causes of the collision, or whether environmental factors like poor weather or road conditions contributed to the fatal outcome.

The Barbados Probation Service is entering a new phase of operational improvement, buoyed by the addition of seven new probation officers that have lifted total staffing to 16, according to Chief Probation Officer Dr. Angela Dixon. The long-awaited expansion is expected to ease crippling backlogs that have plagued the department, particularly around the preparation of critical pre-sentencing reports that have experienced costly delays in recent months.

In an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, Dr. Dixon noted that while the new hires are still in onboarding and their full impact will not be felt immediately, the additional headcount marks a turning point for the service that has been stretched thin by overlapping responsibilities and limited staff. “It is definitely going to help us reduce the existing backlog of work we have accumulated over time,” she confirmed.

Beyond cutting wait times, the new staffing capacity paves the way for a fundamental restructuring of how the department operates. Historically, all probation officers have served as generalists, taking on every core task from writing court-mandated reports and running rehabilitation programming to supervising offenders under their care. This one-size-fits-all model left teams overstretched and prevented specialists from deep diving into high-priority work.

With seven extra team members on board, the service can now transition to a specialized role structure. Dr. Dixon outlined the new framework: some officers will focus exclusively on preparing court reports and attending court proceedings, others will dedicate their full attention to offender supervision, and a third cohort will lead rehabilitation and intervention programming. This targeted model, she explained, will allow the department to better measure its public safety impact and address long-standing gaps in service delivery that have gone unaddressed due to limited capacity.

Despite the progress from this recruitment round, Dr. Dixon emphasized that further expansion will likely be needed to meet the service’s full needs. While she estimates an ideal total workforce would fall between 20 and 25 officers, she declined to lock in a final number, noting that the department will first evaluate the impact of the seven new hires and collect operational data before formalizing future staffing requests.

Alongside workforce expansion, the Probation Service is also advancing plans to deepen digital integration across Barbados’ criminal justice sector. The department currently uses Enterprise Supervision, a specialized case management platform developed by US-based firm Tyler Technologies, which it adopted shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. The platform is designed to streamline case tracking, information sharing and offender monitoring across agencies.

When the system was launched, the Probation Service invited all relevant criminal justice stakeholders to test the platform and explore integration opportunities. Initial feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but momentum stalled due to shifting institutional priorities, funding gaps and delayed follow-up. Dr. Dixon’s long-term vision remains full cross-agency integration: if all stakeholders can connect to the platform or interface with it via complementary tools, teams can proactively flag shared clients and coordinate interventions far more effectively, reducing gaps in supervision and support.

The digital transformation effort has also expanded regionally: the Barbados Probation Service has rolled out access to the Enterprise Supervision platform to probation agencies across 16 Caribbean nations. Regional partners are offered two access pathways: they can leverage the existing infrastructure already in place in Barbados and simply purchase user licenses to get started.

Dr. Dixon reported that regional interest in the platform has been strong, with many agencies expressing enthusiasm for the standardized, digital case management solution. She noted, however, that widespread adoption across the Caribbean will depend on three key factors: sustained political will to prioritize probation system modernization, available funding for platform licensing and implementation, and buy-in from key national stakeholders to recognize probation as a core component of effective public safety and criminal justice strategy.

A 30-year-old man from Martindales Road has received a one-year custodial sentence after confessing to the theft of construction windows from a local Belleville business, in a case that highlights the persistent issue of repeat petty offending in the district. Tramane Michael Stuart, whose address is listed as Campaign Land, entered a guilty plea to the charge of grand theft before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Court documents confirm the offense took place in late May, when four high-value sash windows totaling $1,640 were taken from the premises of Kara’s Trading, located on 8th Avenue.

As court proceedings outlined, employees of the local trading company had temporarily stored a batch of new sash windows in an outdoor lot secured by a perimeter of wooden pallets ahead of installation. When staff returned to the site the following working day, an inventory check immediately revealed that four of the stored windows were no longer on the property. Investigators from the local law enforcement reviewed closed-circuit security camera footage covering the lot, which clearly identified Stuart as the individual who removed the windows from the site. He was taken into police custody shortly after identification, and made a full voluntary admission of guilt during questioning.

Magistrate Manila Renee handed down the one-year prison sentence after reviewing Stuart’s criminal record, which showed four prior convictions. The most recent of these convictions, which were entered in 2025, were also for drug-related offenses and additional theft charges, leading the magistrate to impose a full custodial term rather than alternative sentencing options like probation or fines.

A leading youth welfare professional is echoing the calls of Barbados’ top legal affairs official, urging policymakers to position targeted early intervention as the foundational pillar of the country’s national crime reduction strategy. Shawn Clarke, chief executive officer of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development, a long-running organization focused on youth support across Barbados, has publicly backed recent remarks from Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley, who emphasized that addressing root social causes of youth crime requires proactive, early action. Clarke notes that Lashley’s assessment aligns with more than a decade of on-the-ground observations from youth-focused professionals across the island.

Clarke argues that the framework for effective crime prevention does not activate only after a young person has already entered the nation’s criminal justice system. Instead, he says, the work begins far earlier, when the first subtle and overt signs of distress emerge — from persistent behavioural struggles and emotional dysregulation to social disconnection and academic difficulty. “If we are serious about cutting crime rates across Barbados, we must match that commitment with equal urgency to spot and address these warning indicators before they escalate into more serious harm,” Clarke explained.

He went on to outline that the vast majority of young people who ultimately run afoul of the law display recognizable red flags years before their first interaction with law enforcement. These common early markers include chronic behavioural challenges, patterns of aggression, poor emotional management, underage substance use, disengagement from school, unresolved childhood trauma, unstable family environments, and repeated exposure to community or domestic violence. Too many of these at-risk youth slip through gaps in existing support systems, Clarke stressed, meaning that by the time they appear before a court, critical opportunities to redirect their lives toward positive outcomes have already been lost.

Rather than framing early intervention as a discretionary social service, Clarke says the country should view it as a high-yield national investment. Beyond cutting crime rates, evidence-based early intervention drives a range of broader social benefits: it boosts school attendance, improves long-term academic performance, reduces rates of student suspension and expulsion, delivers better mental health outcomes for vulnerable youth, strengthens family functioning, and increases the chance that young people grow into productive, contributing members of Barbadian society.

While Clarke acknowledges that updated, strong legislation remains a critical component of public safety, he insists that long-term success in cutting youth violence and reducing gang involvement depends on balancing punitive measures with equal investment in prevention. “Strong, clear laws are necessary to maintain public order, but the greatest return on public investment will always come from stopping young people from entering the criminal justice system in the first place,” he said. “Every child we successfully redirect away from harmful pathways is one future victim we prevent, one future offender we avoid, and one step closer to a stronger Barbados.”

Clarke added that effective early intervention is not solely focused on correcting negative or disruptive behaviour. It should also center on nurturing young people’s potential and building the strengths they need to thrive long-term. “Early intervention isn’t just about finding problems — it’s about uncovering potential,” he noted. “It’s about helping young people recognize their strengths, build lasting resilience, develop healthy coping skills for life’s challenges, and create positive, sustainable pathways for their futures.”

Supreme Counselling for Personal Development, Clarke’s organization, has been a leading advocate for and provider of early intervention services in schools and communities across Barbados for more than 15 years. He shared that the organization’s recently updated program framework continues to prioritize prevention, emotional skill development, targeted behavioural support, professional counselling, youth mentoring, and bullying prevention as core components of its community work.

“The national conversation Minister Lashley has started is a critical one for our country,” Clarke said. “Barbados now has a historic opportunity to solidify early intervention as a central pillar of our national crime prevention strategy. The benefits will stretch far beyond crime reduction: we will see stronger families, safer school environments, healthier communities, and a more secure future for our entire nation. Preventing one young person from entering the criminal justice system is meaningful work, but building systemic support that helps hundreds of at-risk youth avoid that path entirely is transformative change for Barbados.”

Barbados is facing a growing crisis of rampant grass fires during its annual dry season, with the island’s main electricity provider, Barbados Light & Power, already sustaining nearly $70,000 in infrastructure damage from the blazes. In response, the company has rolled out innovative fire-protection technology and has stepped up repeated appeals for the public to exercise heightened caution across fire-prone areas.

Victor Callender, Senior Engineering Manager for Transmission and Distribution at Barbados Light & Power, shared detailed figures with local outlet Barbados TODAY outlining the scope of the damage. So far in the 2026 dry season, grass fires have impacted 13 separate districts across the island, leaving 21 utility poles damaged or destroyed. Cumulative damage dating back to last year pushes the total number of affected poles to 180, with repair and replacement costs already hitting $65,000 in 2026 alone.

The rising frequency of grass fires has placed unprecedented strain on Barbados’ emergency response resources. In just one high-demand incident earlier this year, the Barbados Fire Service was forced to respond to six simultaneous blazes across multiple parishes: blazes broke out in Vauxhall, Bannatyne, South Ridge, Sheraton Heights, and Adams Castle in Christ Church, alongside a separate fire in Alleynedale, St. Peter, stretching firefighting personnel and equipment thin.

The growing fire risk is deeply tied to ongoing drought conditions across the Caribbean that are projected to worsen before they ease. At a recent press conference held by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) ahead of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, executive director Elizabeth Riley issued a formal warning that dry conditions across multiple member states would persist and potentially expand by the end of 2026. This extended dry spell leaves vegetation extremely flammable, creating ideal conditions for fast-spreading grass fires that are hard to contain.

To mitigate the ongoing damage to critical power infrastructure, Barbados Light & Power has implemented a new protective solution for its wooden utility poles after rigorous testing of multiple products. The company ultimately selected a specialized fire-resistant covering called Fire Mesh, which outperformed alternative options because its porous design allows wooden poles to maintain air circulation, preventing rot and structural degradation over time. The mesh is installed from roughly one foot below the ground line, extending 5 to 8 feet above the surface, with the exact height adjusted to match local fire risk conditions.

Early field testing of the new protective covering has already yielded promising results. Callender confirmed that at least one pole fitted with Fire Mesh emerged completely undamaged from a recent grass fire, with the barrier successfully blocking heat and flames from reaching the wood.

Beyond infrastructure upgrades, Callender emphasized that public and worker safety remains the utility’s top priority when crews are dispatched to assess and repair fire-damaged sites. Standard, rigorous safety protocols are immediately activated any time crews respond to an incident involving damaged power infrastructure, to protect both workers and community members. Callender also issued a direct appeal to the public: motorists and pedestrians passing through repair areas must stay alert, obey posted safety markers including traffic cones, and follow all instructions from uniformed Light & Power personnel to avoid avoidable accidents and additional emergencies.