7 News Belize

Southside Commander Proposes Gun Amnesty
posted (April 4, 2018)
Gun Amnesties - over the decades - we've covered at least three of them - but, here we are in 2018 - and there are more guns than ever on the streets. Because of the random nature of violence, no one can say for sure if amnesties work - but the Southside police want to try again. Today the commander told us that he's gotten interest from sponsors:...

Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett, OC, Eastern Division South
"There are still guns on the street, that need to be taken off the street. As a matter of fact just this morning the Belize Chamber of Commerce and the Scotiabank is talking about a gun amnesty. It's something that would be forwarded to our superiors in Belmopan to see if that's something that we could do. The business community, I believe will be sponsoring this and they are showing their support for us. So if that's the way to go I believe, I hold the opinion that yes indeed that is something that we should do, but again I'm not the one who will make that final decision that way."

Reporter
"Today, you met with people who sell guns and ammunition. Explain to me, we know that the supply of licit and illicit guns on the street is really what's at the seed of all this crime."

Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett, OC, Eastern Division South
"Based on the intelligence reports that we are getting is, those reports are saying that there the possibility that licensed gun holders are redistributing ammunition on the street and that's sometime that we have to look carefully at. As a matter of fact the minister of national security as well as the ministry of national security they are looking into the possibility of serializing ammunition. How it will be done? It needs more indebt reviews and that will come very shortly, because the police must be able to say this ammunition was bought from this supplier and was bought by this gun owner. We have to tell it more to the public though especially the gun dealers. We had a meeting this morning and they have different views but it was sold I believe in the right way and many if not most of them bought into the idea of serializing ammunition."

Reporter
"Is there any hope of saying let's establish a database a licensed gun holders, you are allowed a thousand rounds per year or something that we can track how many rounds this licensed gun holder is buying."

Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett, OC, Eastern Division South
"That is precisely the discourse we had this morning. It will come at a cost and somebody has to foot the bill and I believed that's where the concerns writing from the gun dealers themselves."

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