8/9/2019 BARBADOS NEWS 6th Feb 1984- Police Open Campaign to Uncover Unlicensed Firearms

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COUNTRY SECTION

POLICE OPEN CAMPAIGN TO UNCOVER UNLICENSED FIREARMSBridgetown THE NATION in English 6 Feb 84 pp 10-11[Article by Charles Harding]

BARBADOS

[Text] Anytime now Barbadians could be rudely awakened to find policemensearching the most unlikely places in their villages for hidden firearms.The unsuspecting, and perhaps the innocent, may also be intercepted at roadblocks, anywhere between the Grantley Adams International Airport and NorthPoint in St. Lucy, as Police Commissioner, Orville Durant and his men moveinto phase two of their ope ra tion to haul in unlicensed guns.For the police have stopped talking. Their appea ls have gone mostly unheeded.The amnesty for those with unlicensed firearms to surr ende r t he weapons without fear of punishment, expired a month ago. So the polic e a re now tougheningtheir action and embarking upon a series of strategic ope ra tions to uncoverand capture what could be hundreds of unlicensed firearms sneaked into thiscountry, or obtained through other than legitimate means.And tough new laws, the enabling legislat ion for which is expected to betabled in the House of Assembly shortly, will also add strength to the policeoperation, and perhaps give them power to enter homes and other places tosearch for unlicensed guns.I t need not have been so, for las t July 1, when the police gun amnesty becameeffective, th e holde rs of unlicensed guns were a ssured they could have beenel igible to apply for the appropriate l icences when they had handed over thei l legal guns.But there was l i t t le response to the six-month amnesty, and up to las t weekend,a mere handful (50 guns) were turned in: a surrender that is nowhere nearpolice expectations.Police know there are just over 3,000 licensed guns in Barbados, a countrywith a population of about 275,000. Yet, al though there is no rel iable estimateof the number of registered guns, the conservative guess is tha t there are muchmore than one gun to 91 persons, as the register of licensed f irearms suggests.

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For concealed guns have been entering this country for years, and some havebeen manufactured here without police knowledge. I t is believed that a greatmajority of them were brought in by Barbadians returning home from farm labourprogrammes in th e United States and Canada. Merchant seamen, and under-thecounter bargains and streets buys in world capitals where gun laws are morel iberal than tho se in Barbados and other Caribbean countries, have managed toconceal sophisticated weapons, or somehow get past customs af ter they stepashore at the Bridgetown Port.Those without friends in some places have also discovered other means to sneakweapons of different makes and calibre into the country.In fact, at one time during the 1960s and early 1970s, guns had been enteringBarbados with such frequency and numbers, that i f they were registered,s tat i s t ics would have given one in every ten Barbadians a firearm.Guns proliferated in one Barbadian parish. Villagers in that part not onlyshowed off their "irons", but manufactured them as well, and i t was no t uncommon for the manufacturer and buyer to negot ia te dea ls over rum-and-coke inthe parish rum shops; or for a sawn-off shot gun or shot guns to suddenlyappear during rum shop brawls--that is i f a modern day Don Juan from outsidethat parish did no t find himself staring down the wrong end of an automaticrevolver for attempting to exert his charm on a female from the vil lage.Guns, or the carrying of them, are not outlawed in Barbados, but the use ofthem has been restr icted by l ic ence s ince 1896.The relevant law has been amended and modified since then, perhaps to matchthe changing social and other condi tions , but has remained basically unchangedsince the 1963 amendment.The local statute gives the Commissioner of Police the sol e authori ty toissue, renew or revoke gun l icences; each l icence speci fy ing the maximumnumber of cartridges (not exceeding 250) that may be possessed at anyone timeby the l icensee, except the amount in excess of that number is sanctioned byt he r espons ib le minister.Certain persons, including members of the Barbados Rifle Association, who useor carry guns exclusively for t arget p rac ti ce , gunsmiths, and auctioneershaving guns in their sales room for sale, are exempted from penalty under theact.The law makes i t clear, however, that " i t shall be unlawful to se l l by retai lor le t on hire a gun to any person unless at the time of sale or hire, suchperson produces a gun licence issued under this Act and then in force, orunless such person is a trader dealing in guns and requires the gun he desiresto buy for the purpose of sale or hire in his business."There are some mandatory provisions. One is that traders dealing in gunsshould maintain a book record of the description of the gun and th e date ofi t s sale, in addition to the name and address of the purchaser . A copy of

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that entry must also be sent to the Commissioner of Pol ice wi th in seven daysof the transaction.Persons. other than dealers, who transfer guns, whether by sale, gif t orloan, must also notify the police within seven days of the transferee.Persons are forbidden to carry guns while drunk; i f caught they are l iableto fines of $250. Those who sel l guns to intoxicated persons, or those ofunsound mind, are also liable on summary convict ion to fines of $500 or termsof imprisonment for three months.Manufacturers, re ta i l traders, and gun repairers, must a ll be registered withthe Commissioner of Police, and on the payment of an annual fee of $100 willbe issued with the appropriate l icences.But th e law goes further:*No r i f le (except air r i f les) shall be impor ted and brought into the islandunless the importer has obtained from the minister a licence to do so.(Such a licence shal l be effectual for one year only and may be renewed fromtime to time at the discretion of the minister.*No person other than the president or the secretary of the Barbados RifleAssociation, shall import into the island any r i f le of point-303 calibre,nor revo lver o f point-450 calibre or point-455 calibre.*No person shall export from the island any f irearm unless he shall haveobtained from the minister a lice nc e to do so.The law and i t s application are clear. I t is not merely to restrict thenumber of guns on the island, but to con tro l th e use o f f ir ea rms, and to helpthe police in their solution to crimes involving such weapons.The polic e a re somewhat tight-lipped about the number of solved or unsolvedcrimes involving the use of unl icensed f ir ea rms, but there is a belief thati t was the spate of gun crimes around th e end of 1982 and early 1983, thatpushed th e pol ic e into act ion aga inst unlicensed gun holders.The appeals and amnesty in 1983 brought only limited resul ts . Phase two in1984 should t r igger a number of surprises, and Barbadians may wel l d iscoverthat the quantity of unl icensed firearms yet unrecovered, more than doublethe number for which licences have been issued.A success fu l police opera tion could also haul in weapons from many unexpectedplaces.For many, time may have run out.

cso: 3298/54419