Our suggestion for one policy that could be implemented as part of our National crime plan is being implemented by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago! In September 2009 we discussed the 10-20-Life strategy. Over the last couple of weeks you may have heard about the three strikes and then life plan. It's an adaptation of the 10-20-Life. The Firearms Amendment Act is a move in the right direction.
'Life' for strike 3
In an effort to deal with illegal guns in this country, Government yesterday moved to establish a three-strike law so that criminals found guilty of possessing arms and ammunition will now face a life sentence upon their third conviction.
National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy piloted the Firearms (Amendment) Act 2010 at the Senate sitting, in taking what he said was a "zero tolerance" on the issue.
He lamented that children and the elderly have become involved in crimes, as they are now keeping guns and ammunition for criminals in communities. He said a high percentage of crime in this country is gun-related and this requires harsher measures of gun control.
Sandy said the law will now provide that a person who is previously convicted of possession of a firearm or ammunition on two occasions and facing a third "no longer has the option of a summary trial, his trial is one of indictment only and he will now upon a third conviction face a term of life imprisonment. This measure again serves to demonstrate the seriousness with which this Government views the possession of illegal firearms".
"This Government envisions that this particular version of the three- strike law will be effective because it will target those repeat offenders who have refused to change their criminal behaviour. The law will only apply to convictions, therefore if a person is simply arrested and charged and not found guilty of a crime, he will not be subjected to the punishment of the three strike law," Sandy said.
He said the penalties for persons selling or transferring a firearm or ammunition without authority will also be increased. He said members of the protective service, including police, customs officers and prison officers, if found guilty of this, can be imprisoned for 20 years.
Sandy said the Commissioner of Police will now also be given the discretion to refuse the granting of a firearm to a person convicted of an offence under the domestic violence act.
He said the chairman of the Police Complaints Authority will no longer be the chairman of the Firearms Appeal Board. These posts, he said, will be occupied by two separate persons for greater efficiency.
"Too many lives have been lost in crossfire between gang members and too many members of our society live in fear. We have had instances where people in their homes were shot and killed by what we call stray bullets, totally unfair to those people who now will be leaving orphans in the wake of their deaths," said Sandy, as he called on the community to work with the police in the fight against crime.
- Anna Ramdass, Trinidad Express.com, Nov 17, 2010
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