by STAFF WRITER
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 19, CMC – A senior Barbados police officer Tuesday called for an urgent review of the security at all ports of entry on the island.
Addressing the inaugural symposium on Crime being held here under the theme “Fighting Crime 2016 and Beyond,” Acting Police Commissioner Tyrone Griffith said over the last two years police seized 100 firearms.
He said the police were willing to work with other law enforcement authorities, particularly those at the ports to stem the entry of guns into the island.
“We have been doing our utmost to rein in these illegal firearms. In fact in 2015 we seized some 65 firearms as opposed to 35 in 2014. But as we seized these firearms we observe they are coming into the country at an extremely high rate,” he told the conference organised by Crime Stoppers Barbados and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA).
Griffith said despite the use of firearms, the police have been able to keep crime under control and maintain the island’s reputation as a safe tourist destination.
“Our records of achievement include our ability over the past two years to maintain crime levels at their lowest within the past 15 years.
“It must be noted that though there was an increase in crime last year this comes against a performance where there was a record of 14 per cent decrease in the previous year. Indeed, to put it another way, in effect in 2015, we recorded a 6.3 per cent decrease in crime over the recorded rate in 2013,” he added.
