First dedicated firearms court opens as plans for a second await completion

Barbados opened its first gun court on Tuesday to speed up firearms trials and tackle a mounting backlog, but the government has yet to set a date for the second specialised court to begin operating.

Newly elevated judge Justice Douglas Frederick presided over the court’s first session in the No. 2 Supreme Court, hearing ten arraignments with one accused pleading guilty.

Earlier this year, the government announced plans for two specialised gun courts, one to deal with recent matters and the other with those committed before 2025, to tackle the mounting backlog of firearm cases.