Caribbean Crime Summit – Leaders To Ban Assault-Style Weapons

Port Of Spain, Trinidad – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders ended a two-day regional symposium on violence as a public health issue, declaring a war on guns to combat the illegal trade which they said “provides the weapons that contribute significantly to crime and violence in our region”

In addition, the delegates attending the symposium including academics, crime experts, police commissioners and religious and non government organisations, said that they are alarmed by the epidemic of crime and violence in the Caribbean. They said it is being fueled by illegal guns and organised criminal gangs that pose a “threat to our democracy and the stability of our societies.”

In the Declaration titled “War on Guns” the regional leaders said they were also calling on the United States to joining the Caribbean in “our war on guns and urgently adopt and take action to stop the illegal exportation of firearms and ammunition into the Caribbean.

“We lament the disproportionate share of our national budges that we are compelled to allocate to measures to address crime, violence and national security as well as mental health and other health-related challenges that directly result from the illegal exportation of guns to our shores.

“We underscore our commitment to utilize all human, financial and other resources to rid our region of the scourge of illicit weapons, the regional leaders said in their Declaration, adding

“we reiterate that the Caribbean must be a Zone of Peace, which will allow us to achieve our goal of a secure, stable and prosperous Community for all our citizens”.

Speaking at a news conference, host Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley told reporters that the CARICOM leaders who met here had also agreed implement a ban on assault rifles. He said during the symposium one of the experts had outlined that the production and sale of hand guns in the United States “in recent times saw these heavier, more lethal and destructive assault weapons that are designed for military use, for maximum destruction, those weapons are now weapons of choice and the production levels are higher than the handguns.

“Those weapons have begun to appear in our country. They are now commonly in the hands of criminals who get them through the illegal trade, but they are also being licensed by the state and put in the hands of civilians.

“We are saying that we do not require those weapons within our societies…because of their outcome in the presence of the societies. So we can continue to provide a certain amount of protection with…handguns…and we are saying having the volume of those guns in our communities on a scale where easily available assault weapons can carry with it what we are seeing elsewhere, it has serious destructive outcomes”. (CMC)

Governor Rena Lalgie has confirmed the appointment of Na’imah Astwood as Bermuda’s new deputy police commissioner.

Astwood’s appointment makes her the first female deputy police chief since Roseanda Young, who held the post from 2005 to 2007. She is set to take over her new role come May 1.

“There is no doubt that Mrs. Astwood is the best candidate to serve as the deputy commissioner of police,” Governor Lalgie said.

“She has the experience and leadership qualities to address the challenges ahead,” he continued.

Astwood, who will be No 2 to fellow Bermudian Darrin Simons, the police commissioner, said that her aim was to make the island safer.

“I am grateful for having been appointed to the role of deputy commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service (BPS),” she said.

“Having begun my career with the BPS as a police cadet at the age of 17, I am excited and look forward to leading the men and women of our organization as we continue to serve our community, making Bermuda safer.”

Astwood has been acting deputy commissioner of police since October 2021, after joining the 400-strong service in 1994 and being made a superintendent in 2018. She has served in several roles within the BPS, including community policing, criminal investigation, serious crime, and strategic change management.

Government House said the position was advertised both locally and internationally and the appointment was made “following an open recruitment process in line with best practice”.

The appointment of the deputy commissioner of police is made by the Governor under Section 87 of the Bermuda constitution. (CMC)