NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is actively discussing a policy of gun amnesty that could include a possible gun buy-back program, said Attorney General Ryan Pinder yesterday.
Speaking to reporters on the matter, Pinder insisted that there needs to be a holistic approach to addressing the rampant gun violence seen in the country, especially in recent weeks.
There have been 43 murders for the year so far, with 22 murders recorded in March alone — the deadliest month on record in The Bahamas recorded history.
The last record was set in May 2012 with 21 murders.
The attorney general said gun amnesty is among the measures being discussed in Cabinet on whether it should be pursued on a policy level to combat the rising crime.
“It’s a strategy to try to remove firearms and guns off of the street,” he said.
“It’s something that is under active discussion with the police and with Cabinet ministers and a subcommittee of Cabinet on that. So it’s something we’re looking at.”
Pinder further explained what the amnesty would look like and further suggested that a cash incentive may be offered for those who turned in firearms.
“With an amnesty, you would not penalize criminally somebody for coming in voluntarily to turn their firearm in,” he continued.
“There’s also thought and there’s discussion whether you have a program to compensate and to pay or not.”
The attorney general insisted however that while initiatives can be put in place to get guns off the street, there must also be a solution to address the importation of guns into the country.
“If I could take one gun off the street and they bring in three guns to compensate for that then that doesn’t us much good at all,” Pinder added.
“It’s more of a holistic approach on looking at an amnesty program, but also looking at how you are going be able to address the ports and border”.
Police have been seeing a number of new trends in the import of guns into the country.
Fernander insisted that The Bahamas does not manufacture weapons here and that they are also targeting traffickers.
He advised that the weapon of choice is a high-powered assault rifle, often an AK-47, and showed video footage of guns being stowed away and hidden in snacks and cereal boxes being shipped into the country.
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