Martin Joseph says NO to gun amnesty

Joseph, who was speaking in the Senate during his contribution to the 2005-2006 Budget, said, "we have explored the issue with professionals and experts, and the end result was that it will not be the best way to rid the country of illegal weapons.

More than 80 percent of the murders in Trinidad and Tobago are committed with the use of illegal guns.

According to Joseph, the authorities are still grappling to get the illegal guns off the streets, and it seems that younger and younger people are in possession of guns. He noted that the same problem exists in the United Kingdom and United States.

Joseph suggested that tougher gun laws are needed to deal with the frightening problem. He noted that people in some communities provide storage for firearms and ammunitions, and many of these communities are unplanned which make them generally inaccessible, but close enogh to provide cover for kidnappers and extortionists.

"The criminal elite also finance the acquisition of sophisticated arsenals which, in the hands of criminal gangs, fuels the murder rate and expands the range of criminal activities to include kidnapping and extortion," said Joseph.

He promised that the Government was in the process of securing the necessary resources to deal with the drugs and guns entering Trinidad and Tobago.

Joseph, who has responsibility for the Police Service, said that the strengthening of the Police Com-plaints Authority is already being translated into increased and timely investigation of police misconduct.

He boasted that the strength of the unit has been increased from 16 to 55 officers to address the huge backlog of public complaints about police officers.

The unit has also received additional data imputting staff and new computers.

He also revealed that a short term programme is intended to bring immediate relief to the crime situation," even as we tackle the fundamental and structural weakness of our law enforcement agencies which require a longer time frame for implementation.

He added that central to the success of the medium to long-term programme is the transformation of the Police Service.