Deputy Commissioner of Police Frankie Joseph, has highlighted the string of firearm related offences committed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in emphasizing the importance of the nation’s upcoming national gun amnesty.
The deputy commissioner of police was at the time speaking on WE FM’s Cop Chat program, where he said that the police force thought that it was time enough for them to carry out another national gun amnesty, even though their last attempt in 2003 was not as successful as they hoped.
“…with the string of firearm offences that we have been encountering in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the past years, we thought it was time enough for us to carry out another amnesty. Last year we had roughly 42 of the murders that were committed through the use of firearms and that is a significant number,” he said.
He also noted that there were cases where a person did not die from the shootings but were still injured.
Mr. Joseph in his appearance on WE FM’s Cop Chat program noted that persons who are willing to hand in firearms, but are not comfortable handing them into police, can do so through a community member such as pastors and members of parliament that they are comfortable with.
This year’s National Gun Amnesty, first announced by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves during his independence address, and will come into effect on Friday March 1st 2024 for 91 days and will conclude on Friday May 31st 2024. Five firearms have already been handed in before the amnesty period.
