Gun amnesty for T&T only if it would reduce number of weapons: CoP Gibbs

Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs told the Trinidad Express Wednesday he would consider offering a gun amnesty in Trinidad and Tobago only if he is convinced that such a move would help in reducing the number of illegal guns in the country.

His predecessor, James Philbert had tried such a program which encouraged young gang members to turn away from a life of crime and embrace religion in exchange for a review of their criminal activities and an offer of jobs. 

The program, which was held in conjunction with some evangelical churches, didn't work.

Read the story: Police meeting ex-criminals; vow to protect, help gang members
 
The prime minister at the time rejected the idea of a gun amnesty. 

"The matter has been discussed and the conclusion has been that when you set up a gun amnesty and you pay people to return guns, all you are doing is funding newer guns than they bring in," Patrick Manning told local media in October 2009.

Gibbs told the paper, "We will be looking at all different types of programmes; gun amnesty is one area that we will take a look at, not necessarily introduce; it depends on whether we see value in introducing that programme."

In October 2008 the Toronto police introduced a "Pixels for Pistols" program that offered digital cameras and free photography lessons for anyone who turned in a gun during the month-long amnesty. Within 12 days, police collected 200 guns, some of which were licensed firearms.

By the end of the program, the police had recovered more than 900 guns. The police chief was so encouraged by the campaign that he extended it for an extra week.

Read about the program

Gibbs said there is no guarantee that a gun amnesty will be part of his crime fighting plans. "Certainly, we want to look at programmes that are going to be effective and things that will work here in Trinidad and Tobago," he said.

Gibbs reiterated his focus on weeding out rouge elements in the police service, noting that there is no room for illegal activity in any police force. "We will certainly take a look at how we deal with illegal activity by members, and if there's any involvement, we certainly will take the appropriate action," he told the paper.

He also said the Trinidad and Tobago police service needs to regain public confidence and promised to design and implement a programme to help do it.

One of the commissioner's priorities is to rebuild the strength of the service, which is now short by 1,600 officers.

"We have an issue with personnel numbers and workloads for these personnel. A new batch of recruits entered the service yesterday (Monday) and, certainly, we will continue with recruitment as best we can to staff up to our full complement of officers," he said.