The traditional pattern of criminal offences in Barbados has been characterised by low rates of violent crime and relatively high rates of property crimes. Over the last three decades, however, there has been a relative shift. Primarily for this reason, the ratio of violent to property crimes has tended to increase. In 1975 Barbados had a violent crime to property crime ratio of 0.2; twenty-five years later, in 2000, this ratio had risen to 0.46 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2002). These data suggest that perhaps a significant shift from the traditional pattern of criminal offending may be occurring.