Roseau, Dominica – The Dominica government on Monday announced plans for a limited gun amnesty, the establishment of a special unit to deal with firearm offences, as well as the payment to people providing information resulting in the seizure or discovery of illegal firearms.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit made the announcement after several people were killed and injured, including a member of the Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book fair, who was shot in the buttocks last week as he walked in the capital, Roseau.
The man has since undergone surgery at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital and his condition is not considered to be life threatening.
Skerrit, who was flanked by the Minister of National Security, Rayburn Blackmoore, the Police Commissioner, Lincoln Corbette and other senior police officers, told reporters that over the past days, Dominica has witnessed troubling acts of gun violence.
“These incidents, brazen and reckless, have disrupted the peace and shaken the sense of safety that we hold dear as a people,” Skerrit said, offering his “deepest condolences to the family of the victim of these violent acts” and wishing them “a full and swift recovery.
“Let me be clear: this government will not tolerate lawlessness. We will not allow individuals with illegal firearms to destabilize our communities, endanger lives and undermine our national security,” said Skerrit.
He said that upon his return to the country on Sunday, he convened an emergency meeting with law enforcement and security officials “to thoroughly assess the situation and review the response to these incidents”.
He said that this was in addition to the strategies and plans which the police have been implementing.
“Today, I am announcing a series of decisive and immediate measures to address this issue head-on. We are establishing a dedicated Firearms Task Force within the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force. This Task Force will focus solely on identifying, apprehending and prosecuting those involved in the possession, trafficking and use of illegal firearms.”
Skerrit said that the Task Force will be a multi-agency unit, drawing expertise and resources from the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Special Branch, the K9 Unit, the Customs and Excise Division, the Dominica Coast Guard and the National Joint Intelligence Centre (NJIC).
He said it will “adopt an aggressive and coordinated approach to stamp out illegal weapons from our streets” and that effective immediately, the authorities are implementing a confidential hotline for members of the public to report illegal firearms or suspicious activity.
Skerrit said that “any individual who provides information that leads to the retrieval of an illegal firearm or ammunition will receive a reward of EC$1 000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) per firearm” and that the person’s identity will be protected.
“We are also declaring a limited amnesty period for anyone in possession of illegal firearms or ammunition to surrender them to law enforcement without fear of prosecution. This is a chance for citizens to do the right thing and avoid the full force of the law.”
He said that the details of this amnesty, including the timeframe and drop-off procedures, will be announced police. (CMC)
The post Dominica announces gun amnesty appeared first on nationnews.com.