The police are reporting seizures of an average of one gun per day in St. James between the start of the year and February 10. The number, though alarming, is just a fraction of a large total of gun seizures across the island. The commanding officer for the parish credits police intelligence for the success. After recent reports that 104 guns have been seized between January 1 and February 5, CVM Live understands a sizable percentage of that number emanated from St. James as the police report, as at Thursday, the parish has seen 41 gun seizures in 41 days.
Among the 41 are 5 high powered riffles, 33 pistols, 1 intratec submachine gun and 2 locally manufactured.
Commanding officer in charge of St. James, Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis says the lawmen in the parish have intensified their work to apprehend criminals and bring them to justice. He’s warning gunmen to cooperate with the police especially during a physical encounter. SSP Ellis says despite a reduction in all other major crimes island-wide, the murder rate is still intolerable. He remains confident however that his side of the law with the help of citizens will remedy the issue. The amendment of the fire arms act is expected to introduce stricter sanctions for anyone found with an illegal gun.
