Tougher penalties, gun amnesty to rid streets of illegal weapons – President Ali

…announces reform programme for criminals

In an effort to curb crime in Guyana, Government will be imposing tougher penalties and a gun amnesty initiative to get illegal weapons off of the street.
This was announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali during an Address to the Nation on Friday during which he highlighted the crime situation in the country and his Government’s plans and policies to tackle it.

He reported a 19.4 per cent decline in serious crimes across the country with a 32.4 per cent decrease in robbery under arms (RUA).
But according to the Head of State, four regions have recorded increases in armed robberies despite the overall national decrease in this category. These are Regions One (Barima-Waini), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Essequibo).
As such, President Ali noted that they will have to examine the peculiarities in those regions that led to these increases in RUA and consequently, implement targeted measures. One of those measures is reviewing the laws to toughen the penalties for possession of illegal weapons.
“I’ve asked the AG [Attorney General Anil Nandlall] to look at the laws and to propose an amendment to apply highest penalty of persons found with illegal weapons because that is a major contributory factor to this,” he disclosed.
Currently, there is a mandatory sentence of three years along with a fine for possession of unlicensed firearm in Guyana.

Gun amnesty
In addition to this, the Head of State also announced that a gun amnesty programme will be rolled out countrywide with the aim of further ridding the streets of illegal weapons.
“We’re going to give a period to all those persons with illegal weapons to deposit those weapons after which, the law will be amended to give you the greatest penalty,” the President stated.
Back in 2015, the then Ministry of Public Security had launched a Gun Amnesty Programme which netted a total of 186 unlicensed firearms from various regions across the country over a 44-day period.
Only last month, AG Nandlall had contended that firearm licences should be granted more liberally “because we have a lot of people who are qualified for firearm licences but are not [getting it]. For some reason, the system is slow”.
At the same time, however, the Attorney General recognised that there is a process to follow that needs to be meticulous.
“I know there are a lot of applications pending and one can’t rush the process because the granting of a firearm licence or its refusal is an important exercise and it requires some degree with care and circumspection. One can’t approach these processes rashly and carelessly; one ought to take due time and diligence in order to access each application on its merits, and grant it if it is worthy of grant, and refuse it if it is not meritorious,” Nandlall had explained.
The application then goes to the Firearm Licensing Board. It is then decided, at that stage, whether the applicant is fit. If so, the application is sent to the Minister of Home Affairs for the final stamp of approval.
Reports indicate that there are more than 4500 registered pistols, 3000 registered shotguns and 3047 registered rifles by the Guyanese public.

Criminal reform
Meanwhile, another initiative that Government will be implementing to further bring down the country’s crime rate is a reform programme for criminal elements.
According to President Ali during Friday’s Address to the Nation, the “very confidential programme” will see Government engaging persons associated with criminal activities, who want to turn their lives around.
“We want a discussion with you. We want to talk to you, to give you an alternative pathway, to earning an income and to living a decent life. The life of crime is short-lived. It may have, in your head, short-term glory but it’s short-lived. We want to work with you on giving you a better option at life. And we’re going to pursue a programme to directly interact with those persons also,” the Head of State noted. (G8)