Controlling Illegal Firearms

At one of his recent press conferences, Commissioner of Police Keithly Benjamin, indicated that there were a number of illegal firearms in Anguilla. No one will challenge this claim when there have been frequent incidents of gunfire reported in some areas of the island culminating in the wounding of a family of three in their Sandy Hill residence last year, the shooting death of Roger Clarke of Old Ta also last year and that of Courtney Hodge of East End in the Forest Bay area just last week.

This is madness in a small island with some trigger happy people on the loose, hiding behind masks and probably being protected by others. It tells a sad story that somehow illegal firearms are not only being imported by persons just for the sake of possessing them, but are being used for criminal activity. There are reports of persons boasting to have brought in concealed weapons under the noses of unsuspecting Customs personnel. On the other hand it is generally believed that it is relatively easy for persons to bring in guns on private boats not using the normal ports of entry. With a gun shop in St. Maarten and persons having the freedom to buy a firearm, it is not difficult to understand how the weapons can be obtained and make their way into Anguilla just across the water.
This is an uncomfortable feeling. It is not known what measures can be taken by law enforcement authorities in St. Maarten about sales of firearms there; what restrictions, if any, are imposed; and what records or measures of tracing sale and ownership of guns are in place. Surely one would not like to think that there is not some kind of monitoring going on by somebody. The fact however is that regardless how illegal firearms are entering Anguilla it is a problem for the Government and the police here to deal with.

The number of illegal firearms (and all the people who have them) might never be known, but there may be some persons who can be encouraged into turning theirs in. A way that has worked in Anguilla somewhat, and certainly in other small and big places, is the offer of an amnesty. This should be tried again in the hope that persons fearing eventual discovery and prosecution, and weary of dodging the police, might respond positively. There may be other steps that can be taken. Whatever can be done to limit the number of illegal guns on the island in the hands of irresponsible and dangerous persons should be pursued with all haste. At the same time it is hoped that those individuals or gangs would abandon their way of life and join in the noble effort of promoting security, law and order and peaceful co-existence in Anguilla. They may in the end benefit from such a peace and not fall victim to violence themselves.