EXCLUSIVE: ‘We have seen an upsurge in gun crime’ – Gov John S. Duncan
“It is true that we have had an upsurge in events and we are tackling that robustly. The police I believe will be making announcements as they have been carrying out tests on a number of weapons that have been captured recently to determine in what crimes those weapons were used.”
“But we have also noticed that following the upsurge there has been a quiet period. Now that indicates that we may well have caught the individuals responsible and we are now waiting for that evidence to come through,” said Governor Duncan.
He pointed out that the Virgin Islands, being a series of islands in itself, presents challenges to curbing the inflow of guns.
“It is very easy for persons to come to the islands and bring weapons in so we are doubling our efforts to make sure that when they come in we try and capture them. We rely on the public as well so if the public hears of people who are hiding weapons I urge them to talk to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force on a confidential basis and to use the informal lines of communication so that the RVIPF can take action,” said Governor Duncan.
When we asked about the recently passed Firearm and Air Guns Amendment Act 2015, Governor Duncan confirmed that it has now been made law and is being applied despite the issues that had to be ironed out.
“The gun crime law is passed. There were a few things that needed to be tied up with it, such as the inadvertent coverage of flare guns and things like that. That has been done. That’s finished,” he declared during an exclusive interview with this news site.
VI Population rejects gun crime
Governor Duncan said that gun crime cannot thrive in the Virgin Islands because the population does not want it.
“I think it is one of the great things of the territory that the population rejects gun crime. I call on the population to support the police in rooting out those who have got hidden weapons,” he said. “We have captured a lot of hidden weapons over my time here. Every month we have managed to find people who have been hiding weapons.”
More than laws needed
Governor Duncan also told Virgin Islands News Online that laws cannot be the only solution to the gun problem.
“Now the gun law doesn’t by itself prevent gun crime. It is there to ensure the sanctions of those who resort to guns for carrying out criminal activity are increased. So there is an automatic bigger sanction, reflecting the fact that society and the community of the BVI rejects the illegal use of firearms.”
He said that while the general attitude of the people of being against gun crime is very laudable, it is up to the Magistrates to apply the law to their sentencing, “which I have seen happen…sentences have been stronger for those who have been using guns for carrying out crimes.”
Guns brought in during amnesty subject to forensic analysis
Commenting on the recent gun amnesty, Governor Duncan confirmed that weapons brought in during the July amnesty period will be subject to forensic tests.
“Weapons from the amnesty are also subject to tests. If there is any reason for us to believe that they are weapons that might have been used in crime then action will be taken,” he said.
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24 Responses to “EXCLUSIVE: ‘We have seen an upsurge in gun crime’ – Gov John S. Duncan”
Governor is an id!*t. That's why they sent him here. To be among the rest of the idiots that voted NDP. Time for a four year Atlanta run for me.
So there is no amnesty then. Good luck next time you try to trick them on that.