Gun hunt

The Attorney General of Barbados on Friday announced a new security strategy designed to stop a worrying influx of illegal weapons into the country which has so far recorded 12 gun-related deaths for 2022.                                          

Additionally, AG Dale Marshall told a press conference at Government Headquarters today that the days of the “faceless” enablers of gun crime who are calling the shots, were numbered.                                         

Marshall, who was joined by Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce, hosted the press conference to address the current crime situation and specifically a spike in gun violence in recent weeks along with other areas of violent crime that have cast a pall of fear and anxiety over the island.                   

He disclosed that part of the strategy to stymie the firearms trade through Barbados is to deal with the countries of origin for the weapon shipment.                                                                                          

“We have settled on an MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] with certain specialised United States agencies to do a number of things which will assist in our mutual ability to deal with the illegal trafficking of firearms, “ he announced.    “We are intent that we are put in a position that we are better able to deal with those things in a cross border way. We are also going to be, as a result of that MOU, looking at increased training of our customs officers,” the Government’s top legal advisor told reporters.

Marshall said police and government authorities are aware of the resourcefulness of the criminal element who are able to disassemble the guns and ship them in multiple ways.

As a result, the AG added, local authorities will be equipping the border security officials to be able to identify those methods and act on them.                                                                                                             

“What is important to us is to make sure that our officers, our border protection agencies are fully able to spot them when they see them,” he promised.                                                                                                  

Marshall revealed that the Commissioner of Police has signed the MOU which is now in the hands of the US Embassy here in Barbados.                                                                                                            

On the 2019 charge by former commissioner Tyrone Griffith that corruption at the ports of entry was to be blamed for the lack of success in stemming the flow of weapons into this country, AG Marshall acknowledged that “bad apples” exist in every segment of the Barbadian society. He told journalists of Government’s plans to weed out any such elements from the public service.                                                                                       

“Of tremendous importance to us, is how we deal with those bad apples. One of the things that the Government is trying to wrestle to the ground is the issue of truth verification, also known as polygraphing,” he announced.                        

  The AG said Barbados has settled on a CARICOM policy for polygraphing so that individuals who work in specialised areas and are at certain levels of seniority will be required to do truth verification to certain levels across the board.       

   “We are trying to reach an accord with the various unions to be able to fully implement that truth verification strategy across our public service,” he stated.                                                                                  

“The fact is, if you are subject to truth verification, to polygraphing, then it allows us to be able to decide where we put whom…to weed out one person or the next. The police service regularly does truth verification on its members and I have asked them to heighten it. There are parts of Government where you do not get hired today unless you first go through a polygraph test, “ Marshall pointed out.

He explained that the international standard has been that as long as a person is working in certain sensitive agencies, they have to subject themselves to a polygraph to protect the integrity of the system.

“I acknowledge that there have been defects. Some of those defects have been recognised and some of those defects have been exposed. The work continues. You asked, ‘are we intercepting any of these guns at the port?’ The answer sir, is yes, we are. Can we do more? Probably,” the Attorney General declared.                              

However, he argued that in order for more to be done, it would require a combined approach between the police, the customs department, the administration at the port, and the administration of the airport.                              

“All of these are inputs into our ability to successfully deal with the issues. We know for example, that people have shipped firearms into Barbados through our courier services. It doesn’t make the courier service bad. It just means there are certain institutional weaknesses that we have to identify and we have to eliminate. And that work continues,” Marshall revealed.    

“Let me assure you…this is a constant battle. It’s like healthcare. You got to take care of it every single day. You don’t deal with it now and know that you are covered for all eternity. Every single day, the criminal element finds a new strategy. We have to spot it, we have to respond, we have to head it off,” he contended.                                                

Marshall admitted that there have been difficulties with regard to stemming the flow of guns into Barbados, even suggesting that they may still exist.                                              

“But I will say to you that the agencies are working in a collaborative way and I believe…the situation might not be perfect…but I believe we are reaping rewards,” according to the Attorney General.          

Commissioner Boyce agreed that attacking the source of the illegal guns coming into the island was key.            

“We are fighting the firearm issue downstream. Downstream in the sense that firearms are not produced in Barbados. Our method is a second or third-tier intervention,” Boyce said.                                                     

“The first aspect of the whole firearm issue is the source area. And the source areas are outside of our control. That is in other countries. So what we will be doing is speaking to and looking at how we can best prepare for this firearm issue,” the COP pointed out.                             

He said that is why members of the police service must be involved and active in knowing what is going on.                     

Commissioner Boyce also assured Barbadians that with mass gatherings and mass movement of people during the Crop Over Festival, officers of the service will be present with them to ensure their safety.                    

“Persons must be willing to go about their places without that fear of being threatened, harmed or otherwise, whether it is a firearm or whatever the violence is,” he added.                                                                                  

“I can assure the public that we in the Barbados Police Service will be with them out in the field, moving to and fro, making sure that all areas, especially where these Crop Over events are being heard…music, dance…or whatever, our men and our women will be in their numbers out in the field and making people feel safe and secure,” the police commissioner pledged.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb