On the VC3 Round Table Program, Assistant Superintendent of Police Elgin Richards said that illegal firearms are a problem in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
As Richards pointed out, many murders occur within the state and guns are often used as weapons.
“In respect to murders, what we have noticed over the years is the number involving the use of firearms”.
“We are thinking that we have a problem with illegal firearms in SVG. For example, in 2021, there were 31 murders committed, of those, 22 were gun-related”.
“This year, we have 14 murders up to May 4, eight of those are by firearms”, Richards said.
Number of women murdered in recent years
ASP Richards said he has been researching the number of women who have been murdered in recent years, given what happened over the weekend.
The body of Luann Roberts, a family court counsellor, was discovered on Sunday 1 May in Buccament. On Wednesday, 4 May, Reynold Roberts, a 40-year-old from Harmony Hall, was charged with the murder.
“For this year, we have had two women killed of the 14 deaths so far, in 2020 we lost five women, in 2018 seven and in 2017 we lost six”, Richards said.
As for other crimes, ASP Richards noted that theft, burglary, property damage, and assault/bodily harm had increased.
