Barbados gun courts plan draws legal scrutiny over staffing and root causes

Two attorneys welcome plans for dedicated gun courts but warn they may shift delays rather than address illegal firearms imports. Courts expected by September.

Lawyers divided on Barbados gun courts as firearms backlog grows

Government plans to establish two specialised gun courts in Barbados are drawing critical scrutiny from legal professionals, Barbados Today reports. While both attorneys consulted acknowledge the urgency of clearing a growing backlog of firearms cases, they differ sharply on whether the proposed courts represent a sound solution.

Attorney-at-law Sian Lange said she welcomed the courts' potential to accelerate hearings but cautioned against allowing them to become a permanent feature of the judicial system. The courts are expected to be operational by September, when the new legal year commences.

"Boston, Philadelphia, New York, these are some of the jurisdictions that have similar gun courts in their legal systems," Lange said. She noted, however, that those cities were also associated with entrenched gun crime and stigmas affecting young Black people.

"It's against this backdrop that I am hopeful that the gun courts are used to reduce the ever-growing backlog of criminal matters, but also that we remain mindful that we would not want something like a gun court to become a status symbol or to become something that creates unwanted stigmas amongst ourselves," she said.

Lange described firearm offences as having become "an acute problem" in Barbados in recent years and agreed that targeted government strategies were necessary. Her primary concern, however, was that the courts address symptoms rather than causes.

"I also remain hopeful that serious efforts are being made to address the real issue, which is the illegal importation of these firearms at a higher level," she said. Lange characterised the gun courts as a temporary measure and urged policymakers not to allow them to entrench themselves in the justice system. "We don't want the gun court to become the new standard by which we measure who is a bad man, but we do need some sort of temporary measure to address the backlog of firearm offences."

She also suggested the government explore specialised courts for other categories of offences that had already become endemic or were approaching that threshold, framing the gun court strictly as a backlog-reduction tool rather than a structural reform.

Minister cites trial delays as justification

Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley introduced the legislation in June, framing it as a measure to accelerate trials and reduce case delays. Under the proposal, one court would handle new firearm cases filed since January, while a second would focus on older matters already sitting in the backlog.

Second attorney calls proposal a 'knee-jerk reaction'

Attorney Simon Clarke takes a more critical position. "The creation of two gun courts is a knee-jerk reaction to solving gun related crimes in Barbados, crimes that are addressed by the seven already established High Courts," Clarke said.

Clarke questioned what additional specialised courts could realistically deliver given existing shortfalls in staffing and defence attorneys. He warned that the new courts risked simply relocating delays within the system rather than eliminating them, potentially worsening the overall criminal backlog.

He also pointed to incomplete police investigations and the need for forensic analysis as drivers of existing case delays — problems that additional courtrooms would not resolve.

"I suggest that instead of establishing gun courts, the unwavering focus should be on improving the quality and speed of investigations," Clarke said. He called for investment in modern forensic technology, specifically the Integrated Ballistic Identification System, which he said could allow police to link firearms to multiple crime scenes, identify suspects and criminal patterns, build stronger evidentiary files, and produce those files more quickly.

Clarke's position frames the gun courts as an administrative fix that sidesteps the investigative and prosecutorial gaps underlying the backlog.

The two attorneys' assessments reflect a broader tension in the debate: whether the firearms crisis in Barbados is primarily a courtroom-capacity problem or a law-enforcement and border-control problem — with Lashley's legislative initiative so far addressing only the former.

Source: Barbados Today