Judge in favour of heavy fines for firearm offences

The present strategy of imposing hefty fines on convicted gunmen is the “correct policy,” a High Court judge has stated.

Justice Carlisle Greaves made the statement as he dealt with two gun matters before the No. 3 Supreme Court.

He said while there was a policy of imposing starting sentences of eight years in prison for such offences, there were other ways to deter offenders and would-be offenders from committing such crimes.

Justice Greaves, who has some 30 years’ experience on the Bench said,  “I believe our present policy is the correct policy” given the backlog of cases in the system.

He also made reference to the “over 300 firearm cases” to be adjudicated in the Supreme Court “two thirds of which are for simple possession”.

“These are firearms offences other than cases where a firearm is used, so these are possessions, robberies, that kind of stuff.”

He said the policy of the High Court of imposing fines of $25 000 or $35 000 “is correct” as it is not easy for a defendant to come up with the capital on his own.

“. . . It is not easy, so there is enough pain in it I think, in order to raise funds . . . It has to have an impact upon his likelihood to commit further offences of that sort  . . .  That’s my view.

“When everybody [the family] has to find and put a $5 000 here and a $2 000 there, everybody putting pressure on him after that, you know. So what our policy does therefore is recruit the family to assist us to hold the culprit responsible. It recruits the family to be itself responsible.

“There is more than one way to deter people . . . lockup is not the only way. There are a lot of ways to deter people from a judicial standpoint. You have to study it, and you have to be as smart as or smarter than those charged before you.

“So we are right. These fines are being paid and I want the public to understand that these fines are being paid.”

The judge said based on research he had conducted over the years, if criminal matters are brought to finality as fast as possible whether a person was fined or confined the “results are better”.

“When a man has been sentenced whether fined or confined, there is a finality in that and I think you will find that a person is more likely to walk the correct path than not and it sends a message to those would-be offenders,” Greaves said even as he warned that if the court was going the route of imposing fines the defendants had to walk with a substantial amount on money.

“When you are coming, bring the money. If you pick up a gun . . . you should put down some money, nuff money or . . . put down a lot of time to Dodds. You don’t pick up a fancy car and don’t have good insurance.

“A gun is a heavy thing. If you pick it up, put down some serious money. If you do not have any money don’t pick it up or do not pick it up at all,” he stressed.