Laws do not stop crime

People are saying that imposing stiff laws are not a deterrent to crime. A reactive National Security Minister Stuart Young after the murder of a 16-year old student in Laventille two weeks ago is now proposing no bail for 120 days for persons charged with firearm offences.

Young said he plans to take a new package of gun legislation to Parliament soon. He believes these new laws will help the police eradicate illegal firearms from the streets of the country and put away gun criminal offenders behind bars for a long time. Young estimates that there are more than 9,000 guns, including semi-automatic pistols and assault rifles such as the AR 15s and AK47s, in the hands of the criminals. How did Young arrive at that gun figure, some are asking. If he knows how many there are, many are saying that he is also supposed to know who has them. Many are saying that there is no bail for persons charged with murder but the murder rate has been soaring for some years now. The penalty for murder is death by hanging or life imprisonment. Does the death penalty stop murders? There are many persons in jail in the Remand Yard at Golden Grove Prison, Arouca for years on gun-related offences because they have not been able to post bail in some cases. Criminals are living it up in jail and would not mind having to spend four months behind bars without bail. People are saying that criminals are going to find innovative ways to conceal their firearms. How many guns used in murders and shootings have the police seized from those killers? How many gang members have the police charged since the implementation of the Anti Gang legislation which is a nonbailable offence? People are saying that there are gang members all over the country but the police are yet to put them behind bars.