Police urge community to hand in weapons

| 01/06/2010

(CNS): With only ten days left before the end of the RCIPS gun amnesty, police are making another appeal to the community to hand in illegal, unwanted and unlicensed guns and ammunition before the ‘no questions asked’ period is over.Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden asked the public to continue to back the amnesty and use these last few days to hand in their weapons and help reduce gun crime in Cayman. Police have said that once the amnesty comes to an end there will be a serious clamp down on anyone found in possession of an illegal weapon. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)

“The amnesty is a golden opportunity for people to get rid of illegal, unwanted and unlicensed guns and ammunition,” DS Bodden said. “Many people throughout the Cayman Islands have already taken part. To date the campaign has been well supported and we’ve had shotguns, handguns, imitation firearms, ammunition, detonators and a bow and arrows all handed in. But the clock is now ticking. In ten days that window of opportunity closes.
He explained that everyone had to play their part in reducing violent crime and asked them to seize this opportunity.
“I’m sure that the vast majority of law abiding people on the islands will agree with me when I say that, as a community, we must do everything that we can to stop guns falling into the wrong hands and being used for criminality. That’s why today I want to make a specific appeal to people who have illegal, unlicensed or illegal guns and ammunition in their possession not to let this opportunity pass.”
The senior officer said people may have guns which were once licensed but, for whatever reason, they have let that license lapse.
“If that’s the case then I would ask them to please use this ten last days to do the right thing. Bring the guns in and drop them in the secure boxes, or hand them to police staff. That’s all it takes to play your part and cut gun crime in Cayman,” DS Bodden added.
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  1. Ali Louya says:

    It might help if we stopped trying to force our children to believe in the myths and legends of Bronze Age middle east tribesmen as absolute fact and stopped putting faith in fictional characters such as "god".

    • Mat says:

      The mind needs a hook, an anchor when it is restless and finds no purpose in this temporal life. Yes… a belief in God may seem to you fictional and irrational, but it is effective in calming the mind, peace of mind, sustained happiness, and contentment. The more beautiful, ETERNAL, and just God is, is the more the mind and heart has something to go to for its refuge. There is no real happiness and peace in the world, when all things change and fade away. But when the person, especially a child learns to anchor him/her self in the eternal "Rock of Ages," they learn not to be selfish, to love other people as themselves, morality and a love for the things of nature. You rob a child when you take away the highest of all their imaginations – a Powerful, Just, and Benevolent God that is beyond death and suffering.

      Yes, to you God is a mere concept, but once it is grasped, it becomes a reality when there is peace of mind, universal love for all, joy, contentment, and humility – "Not I, but you oh Lord is Real." I can think of no other method and science which naturally kills ego, self-centeredness, and would reduce crime than the beautiful and just devotion to an Almighty God. And I am not talking about religion or just joining some church – I am talking about devotion – just you fully surrendering to God.

      Peace and Love

  2. Iron Clad says:

    Does the R.C.I.P./Govt. realize and understand that the REAL Criminals and gun-slingers are NOT going to hand in their ‘Sense of Security’ and Offensive Weaponry? It will only be the naive and ‘soft-shelled’ few that will do any handing in. Therefore this almost a futile effort.

    Further more, I was amazed when I saw what was constructed at the Central Police Station in George Town. The very narrow and vertical depository was not too bad of a concept, but rather the lack of PROPER and professional INSTRUCTIONS that is on the depository chute was pretty rediculous. ALL that was hand-written on the sheet of paper was something like "Deposit Hand Guns and Shot Guns Here". There were NO other instructions cautioning the depositor to Make sure that the fire arms have been properly UNLOADED prior to DROPPING them down the open-top chute. I would imagine this might be a useful instruction.

  3. Mat says:

    No matter how much weapon is handed in whether is a gun, stick or stone, if we don’t work towards developing our characters and the characters of our children now – we will forever have "weapons" and guns in the hands of unpredictable individuals.

    Our focus as a community should be on the development and cultivation of upright character!  We need to learn to stop relying on the Police and government to resolve our problems, and start relying on ourselves to make a difference and putting our trust in God.

    What we need is a "Rehab Amnesty" and I am afraid it must startwith the parents and so-call "guardians of society"