CARICOM Leaders Discuss Gun Laws Review

At their just-ended summit in Grenada, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders discussed strengthening their countries’ legislative responses to violent crime, firearm trafficking, and corruption. Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told an end-of-summit news conference that the leaders also discussed a regional approach to comprehensively reviewing all firearms-related legislation. Mitchell explained that the objective was to find a more common platform and ensure “judicial consistency” in sentencing. “The issue of bail was also extensively discussed because the empirical data is clear that many of the most violent crimes, particularly those associated with firearms, are committed by persons who are known to the police, who are known to the law and who often are on bail,” the Grenada PM, who is an Attorney at Law stated. He said the regional leaders discussed developing a common approach to minimising the risk of people on bail repeating offences and the impact of crime and violence on young people as victims and perpetrators. In this regard, Mitchell spoke of the need for social and cultural interventions as part of an appropriate response. He said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has agreed to host a follow-up regional meeting on crime before the end of this year. In...