A number of Jamaicans have expressed mixed views in regards to the question of how they would handle a situation if they found their child in possession of an illegal firearm.
Some citizens, who spoke on the topic, just days after a school girl was found with an illegal gun in her bag, were divided on the issue, with some arguing that it was not as simple as it appeared if such a situation would emerge.
The issue also brought into sharp focus the effectiveness of the protective systems implemented by authorities, in the case where persons were willing to come forward to speak out on matters of crime but still had to live in communities where perpetrators are based.
It is no secret that school children continue to arm themselves and use these weapons in fights with their peers as seen in the many viral videos that are making the rounds on social media in recent weeks.
This situation was, however, carried to a higher level on Monday, when a 15-year-old high school girl was detained by the police, after a 9mm pistol with a magazine containing 11 9mm rounds was found in her schoolbag during a routine spot check in Kingston.
It is a step up from the knives and scissors that the police usually seize from schoolchildren, mainly boys.
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Jamaica has a prevalence of illegal guns, indicated by the 320 weapons that Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson said on Tuesday have been confiscated by the police since the start of the year. Thousands have been seized in recent years.
It means that schoolchildren will have access to guns or be used to transport them from one point to another so Loop News took the streets in St Andrew for this week’s Let’s Talk:
What would you do if you find your child in possession of a firearm?
