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Bar Association suggests less focus on legislation and more attention to causes of crime

by Emmanuel Joseph
5 min read
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Rosalind Smith-Millar

The legal fraternity in Barbados wants more focus on addressing the root causes of crime and violence and less on the enactment of additional laws.

The Barbados Bar Association also suggests that the authorities find and crack down on the source of guns being imported.

That’s the position held by president Rosalind Smith-Millar and criminal attorney Shadia Simpson, in response to Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s recent announcement of the plan to restore mandatory jail time for illegal gun possession.

While welcoming the intended mandatory imprisonment for firearm possession, Smith-Millar said it would not get to the heart of the serious situation confronting the country.

“There are some crimes which need a firmer hand when it comes to deterrent and punishment, and this [gun crime] is probably one of them. But there is more to this whole scenario than just somebody shot somebody,” Smith-Millar said in an interview with Barbados TODAY against the background of a recent spike in shootings.

“Where are these guns coming from? Why is this happening? What are the societal factors that are making people turn to this action?” the spokesperson for the legal community queried.

Prime Minister Mottley announced last Friday that Government intended to amend the Firearms Act to introduce the new sentencing, but called for a “whole nation approach” to the upsurge in gun violence.

“There is an amendment that will come that will correct the section of the Firearms Act that struck down the mandatory sentencing. And that amendment, we believe, can follow that which is being done in the United Kingdom, in Turks and Caicos, and in other countries where the sentence of imprisonment for possession of guns will be mandatory unless there are exceptional circumstances that the judge is satisfied that can be there.

“That amendment must come to the House now and the Attorney General will bring that shortly,” Mottley said.

The Bar Association head said even though that had merit, judicial officers should always have the discretion to look at the circumstances of a crime.

“You would have to think about what would be exceptional circumstances that are lawfully taken into account in going away from the mandatory sentence. Are they going to define those or are they going to leave it open for the judicial officer to determine?”

“And if you are going to leave that open, why bother with a mandatory sentence when you already have a project for sentencing guidelines for various kinds of crimes?” she added.

Smith-Millar also expressed particular concern about the influx of firearms entering Barbados.

“If there are no guns, whatever the cause of the perpetrators’ anger, he wouldn’t have the tools to do the damage that he is doing. How are those guns getting into Barbados? What are we going to do to stop them? And the ones that are here, how are we going to get those off the streets and out of the hands of those who have no business having them?” she queried.

“Those are some of the things we have to address. The causes, not just the symptoms.”

Meanwhile, criminal lawyer Shadia Simpson is not on board with the proposed gun legislation, preferring that greater attention be given to determining and addressing the causes of violent crime.

Shadia Simpson

“I am not in agreement with imposing mandatory custodial sentencing for the possession of firearms. The reason being…there are some individuals, unfortunately, charged under the Firearms Act, but because of their personal circumstances may not be deserving of a custodial sentence,” she told Barbados TODAY.

“To my mind, there needs to be some reform in terms of the law but I don’t think that’s the only solution to dealing with the issue of gun violence in this country.”

The attorney, who has represented several high-profile accused, believes Barbadians too often take a reactive approach to these types of issues.

“You run and you change the law. But why not try to deal with the source? How are the guns getting into Barbados? Why are more focus and effort not being placed on curbing those issues?” Simpson said. “It’s alright to say ‘lock them up immediately and throw away the key’. But we need to look at other solutions apart from imprisonment. And until we get to the root and until we get to the cause, this is what you are going to see, this is what the state of affairs will be in Barbados,” the criminal attorney warned.

Prime Minister Mottley and Attorney General Dale Marshall have already said the current gun violence is just a spike, while the Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce has maintained that his law enforcers have matters under control.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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