A renewed focus on border security and the flow of illegal guns is needed if Barbados is to curb gun crime, an opposition senator warned on Wednesday, arguing that new court measures will deal with offences after the fact rather than prevent weapons from entering the country.

While not opposing the establishment of gun courts on the island, Senator Karina Goodridge urged greater attention to stopping the smuggling of illegal firearms and removing those already in circulation.

She said: “Firearm court deals with the consequences of gun crime. It does not prevent a single illegal firearm from entering Barbados, and we must make that clear. It does not disrupt a single trafficking network. So the first line of defence against illegal firearms, in my view, may not be the courtroom.”