No gun amnesty now, says commish

Ocho Rios, St Ann:

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has declared that he would not recommend that the Government implement a gun amnesty at this time.

Fielding questions from delegates attending the fourth biennial Jamaican Diaspora Convention in St Ann yesterday, Ellington did, however, indicate that his position could change if the police were on the eve of a new law imposing more stringent punishment for illegal gun possession.

The commissioner said he believed that, currently, a gun amnesty would not work because criminals place a tremendous value on guns.

"Their killing and coercive capacity are what make them continue in crime with success, so I don't see them turning in guns unless there is the threat of long-term imprisonment if they are found with guns," Ellington said.

He said the last gun amnesty was held in the early 1970s.