The Caribbean Group (Caricom) Implementation Company for Crime and Safety (Caricom Impacs) commenced a pivotal four-day gathering on Monday in St Kitts and Nevis, tackling the urgent difficulty of escalating violent crime fueled by unlawful firearms throughout the area.
Prime Minister Dr. Terrence Drew highlighted the regarding surge in gun-related violence, emphasizing the urgency of collective motion to fight this rising menace.
Prime Minister Drew, talking at a Caricom Crime Gun Intelligence Unit assembly, underscored the grim actuality confronted by his nation, St Kitts and Nevis, stricken by a number of incidents of gun violence over the previous 12 months.
He reiterated the dedication of regulation enforcement businesses in his nation to quell the spike in crime witnessed significantly all through April.
The assembly marked the inception of a sequence orchestrated by Caricom Impacs, devoted to elevating consciousness and fostering collaboration in addressing the pervasive difficulty of gun crime.
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Scheduled to span all 15 Caricom member states within the upcoming months, these gatherings purpose to fortify the area’s capability to detect and deter firearms-related offenses.
Combatting gun trafficking
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Jones, Government Director of Caricom Impacs, emphasised the crucial nature of those initiatives in gentle of the alarming findings introduced in The Weapons Compass: The Caribbean Firearms Research 2023.
Highlighting the disproportionately excessive charges of violent deaths, significantly amongst girls, the research underscores the pressing want for concerted motion to curb the scourge of unlawful firearms.
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Reflecting on progress and challenges forward
Prime Minister Drew mirrored on the journey for the reason that inception of Caricom Impacs nearly 18 years in the past, acknowledging strides made in capacity-building and coverage initiatives to handle gun trafficking and violence.
Nevertheless, he cautioned towards complacency, emphasizing the continued challenges and the crucial for continued innovation in advancing regional safety.
Confronting the foundation causes
Drew reiterated the insidious nature of unlawful firearms trafficking, recognizing it as a direct affront to nationwide borders and a grave risk to the protection and safety of Caribbean nations.
He urged collective vigilance and a steadfast dedication to combatting the proliferation of illicit weapons, underscoring the crucial to safeguard the area’s most respected asset — its folks.
