ARMED ROBBERY NOT NEW, MINISTER NICHOLAS SAYS, BUT GOV’T AND BUSINESS SECTOR WILL WORK CLOSELY TO ENHANCE PROTECTION

The Government is encouraging businesses and householders to put more security mechanisms in place to protect their properties from robbers and thieves.

A spate of broad-daylight robberies took place, only days apart last week, and all involved the use of firearms.

While speaking about these incidents, Minister of Information Melford Nicholas was asked how these weapons are coming into the country.

The use of firearms to commit crimes is nothing new, Nicholas says, noting that the Administration has offered at least two gun amnesties. 

These were an effort to get illegal weapons off the streets and lower the number of crimes involving firearms, he says. However, he did not reveal the success of those initiatives, at the time.

Meanwhile, Nicholas admits that the country does have a number of inlets where illegal importation of guns and ammunition can take place.

The Minister says the Executive discussed the matter in Cabinet last week and met with the top brass of the Police Force.

He claims that officers are closely monitoring the cameras positioned across the country, and adds that a regimen is in place to “expand the footprint of that surveillance.”

Nicholas says that Government will have to work closely with the business sector to ensure that their properties are safeguarded.  However, business operators are also responsible for making sure their places of operation are protected.

Nicholas says that resources will be applied where needed in order to prevent the issue from becoming chronic.

In the meantime, householders, too, must protect their homes from intrusion, the Minister says.

Neighborhood watches and the setting-up of community alarm systems are some other mechanisms that can be deployed, Nicholas says.