A major topic of discussion during the Regional Security System (RSS) Council of Ministers Meeting on Wednesday was the importation of illicit guns into the Caribbean area, which was described as a plague by Dickon Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada and Chair of the RSS Council of Ministers.
The prime minister announced during his speech on the subject of gun-related crime that Grenada had had a gun-related homicide on Tuesday night with at least six rounds being fired, which resulted in a fatality.
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According to Mitchell, initial investigations indicate that it was an execution-style hit and that the attacker might not have been a Grenada native.
He claimed that one issue the area has to deal with is gun-related behavior.
Mitchell, who serves as the chair of the RSS Council of Ministers, announced that the RSS had recently been sent to Saint Lucia to help with the restoration of calm and law and order in a region of the island that had lately seen an increase in criminal activity involving firearms.
He said that the area is now fighting the scourge of the trafficking of weapons and ammunition into nations from sources outside of the Caribbean’s frontiers where these dangerous instruments are produced.
“The easy access to firearms in our countries is one of the greatest threats that we currently face and the various criminal activities spawned from the use of illegal firearms have far-reaching negative impacts on our people and societies.”
Mitchell emphasized that in places where there is unrest and security uncertainty, economic and social growth is challenging.
According to him, efforts must be taken to ensure that the security climate in the region’s nations fosters investment and supports the various vital economic activities that fuel growth.
The area must also do its share to improve border security and lower the desire for illicit guns among citizens, especially young people.
The RSS, according to Mitchell, is responding to crime in a way that goes beyond the usual methods of imprisonment and penalties. The RSS’s goal is to render criminals bankrupt by taking away the resources necessary to fund or produce these illegal acts, including money and assets.
