Barbados Government Plans Two Gun Courts to Address Case Backlog

Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley has sought to allay concerns raised by some attorneys over the government’s plan to establish two gun courts, insisting that staffing and operational solutions have already been identified.

Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday as he presented the Supreme Court of Judicature Amendment Bill, Lashley said the specialised courts would be adequately resourced from the outset, with personnel drawn from outside the existing criminal justice system.

He said: “I have heard some practitioners speaking out. I am saying that we should not worry about how we will get these cases fast tracked because it is a specialised court. Already we have permission that these will be staffed by two judges. Judges outside the existing criminal justice system. Judges that will have time to deal with matters. Further, two legal assistants outside of the criminal justice system, four marshals, [and] four probation officers.”

Four prosecutors are “ready to hit the ground running”, he added.

Pre-sentence reports are prepared early, particularly from the point at which accused people indicate an intention to plead guilty, thereby avoiding adjournments, he explained.

A prominent criminal defence attorney before coming back into government in February, he also criticised fellow lawyers for, in his view, failing to offer practical solutions to address the existing backlog of cases.

He said: “If a lawyer had come and said to me. ‘You see the offence of indecent assault? Move some of those matters to the magistrate so they can deal with it.’”

“The indecent assault matters that involve minors, leave those at the High Court. The offence of escaping law custody which is a common law offence; let the magistrate deal with it, rather than coming to a High Court with a judge and jury.”

“Nobody ain’t come and say establish an early guilty plea system. So that persons that want to plead guilty can come on this day.”

Lashley underscored the urgency of the initiative by pointing to crime statistics, noting that 23 of the 27 murders recorded so far this year were firearm-related. Since January, he said, police have recovered 51 illegal firearms.

“This means that there are cases to be done, cases to be fast-tracked, cases to be tried,” he said, adding that more than 80 firearms and 3 309 rounds of ammunition were seized in 2025, creating additional cases for the courts.

He said many cases were already trial-ready, citing progress made through collaboration between a consultant and the Barbados Police Service’s prosecution department.