Gun amnesty ends; crackdown comes next
It was not expected to be anything, but a perfunctory prelude to a crackdown on illegal firearms, the last chance for criminals to come clean before the legal hammer dropped. And so today officials marked the formal end to the one-month gun amnesty, calling it a modest success, with the real test to follow. Jacqueline Woods reports.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
One by one the eleven illegal firearms were blow-torched and destroyed under the watchful eyes of the police, the Ombudsman and citizens.
Paul Rodriguez, The Ombudsman
“This programme is a little help, eleven weapons were taken out of the community. These people are law-abiding people who turned in these weapons, but at least these weapons are not available for someone to steal them and carry out crimes with them. Hopefully with the continuation of the programme, where cash will be paid for information, some more guns will be brought in and that will be fewer guns that are available for those who want to commit crime.”
The collection indeed can be considered just a drop in the bucket, but authorities believe the one-month amnesty period was a success even if the countrywide programme had yielded just one weapon.
Major Errol Gentle, Coordinator, Gun Amnesty/Cash For Info
“Two reasons why. One, these weapons were collected; we didn’t offer cash for any weapon. But secondly, I think the greatest success comes from knowing that we gave those persons out there, who had illegal guns in their possession, we gave them an opportunity to come clean.”
Today, the police promise if anyone is caught with an illegal gun or ammunition, they will be severely punished. Although, the bill for the new measures has yet to become law, National Coordinator for the Amnesty and Cash for Information Programme, Major Errol Gentle, says it’s only a matter of time that the stiffer penalties will come into effect.
Major Errol Gentle
“I am certain that the persons who are dealing with this are serious, and the nation needs to know that we are serious. We are looking at the fines, as well as the incarceration time being extended. You are looking at anything now up to twenty-five thousand dollars. For a first offence you’re looking at the fine being up to ten thousand dollars. For a second office, you are looking at the maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars, five years imprisonment.”
It is doubtful that any money as yet has been paid for information that leads to the seizure of a prohibited firearm. But since the second phase of the crime preventative programme started on Monday, authorities have been receiving a number of phone calls.
Major Errol Gentle
“I am certain that there is a lot of people out there who know who has these guns in their possession. Sometimes, maybe they are afraid to come forward to the police. What they can do now is to call this 922 hotline, manned by specially trained civilians. No questions asked, we don’t want to know your name. Once the community gets involve and participate, give us the information and we will ensure that we act on this information and try our best to minimise what has been going on.”
Since January there have been forty plus murders and a far greater number of hold-ups and robberies. Police Press Officer, G. Michael Reid, says the latest incident that occurred early this morning on Water Lane has left thirty-two year old Chinese businessman Shehong Quan hospitalised with gunshot wounds to the body.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
“What we know is that sometime after midnight, this Chinese merchant from Sandhill was in Belize City for whatever reason and was on Water Lane in a vehicle just seated, when according to him, three dark skinned male persons came up to the vehicle and just opened fire. He was hit twice in both legs and once in the chest.”
Police have yet to recover the weapon used in that shooting. The guns destroyed this morning included a pump action twelve gauge shotgun, a regular twelve gauge shotgun, two twenty-two rifles, two sixteen gauge shotguns, a sawed off twenty-gauge shotgun, and a twenty-two, two thirty-two and thirty-eight handguns. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
