A new study highlights a significant spike in gun related murders in Barbados over the last three years, but Barbados continues to have a relatively low murder rate compared to other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The study undertaken by government’s Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit examines key homicide trends in Barbados from 2018 to 2020.

The findings were outlined this morning by unit’s the senior statistician Tameshia Howell who disclosed that much of the gun violence is linked to a rise in gang activity and fueled by the increased availability of firearms.

She spoke of the increased access to guns and the fact that many such crimes go unsolved.