St. George (CMC):
The Grenada government has amended its firearms laws to make firearm-related crimes as criminal as murder and treason.
According to Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Claudette Joseph, from July 30th, magistrates will no longer have the power to grant bail to people suspected of firearms offences, as offences will be upgraded to “very serious” offences.
“It is clear from the new penalties in this Act that we are elevating the offence of the Firearms Act to a very serious offence for which an application for bail must be made to a judge, just as an application for bail must be made to a judge for the offence of murder or treason,” Joseph said in the Senate on Wednesday, where the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was being considered.
The Bill seeks to amend Chapter 72B of the Criminal Procedure Code to widen the category of offences for which a magistrate may not grant bail to include offences under Chapter 105 of the Firearms Act which are punishable by imprisonment for a term of five years or more.
Currently, the Criminal Procedure Code empowers judges to grant bail in cases where the offence is not a serious one such as murder, treason, concealment of treason or treason.
Joseph said the state currently treats firearms-related offences on the same level as non-bailable offences.
“Therefore, those who commit these crimes will no longer be able to obtain bail from a magistrate due to the seriousness of their crimes,” Joseph told members.
The 28th Amendment to the Firearms Act, described as draconian, comes at a time when Grenada is experiencing a high rate of firearms crime.
Between January and June 2024, police seized 35 firearms.