ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Friday called on member countries of the Regional Security System (RSS) to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach towards crime, especially as it relates to the trafficking of illegal guns, urging also for greater collaboration in dealing with the scourge of illegal drugs.

Addressing the RSS Council of Ministers, Skerrit said that “there is a huge challenge in the RSS family …and indeed the wider Caribbean of the trafficking of arms and the proliferation of the arms within our space”.

“There seems to be an ever-increasing number of it coming through. We have had success, but one illegal firearm in the hands of people out there is one firearm too many in our region and we are suffering the consequences of the presence of these firearms in the hands of criminals.

“So we have to have a zero-tolerance for the presence of illegal firearms and if we have to strengthen our legislation and strengthen the capacity of our respective police services we have to take these actions because this is a major threat to our economies…and the survival and safety of our citizens and visitors to our countries.”

The RSS was created out of a need for a collective response to security threats, which were impacting the stability of the region in early 1970s and 1980s. It has additional responsibilities to the wider CARICOM region as provided for under the Treaty on Security Assistance (TSA). The TSA identifies RSS Headquarters as part of the regional response mechanism.

The Barbados-based RSS headquarters is the Coordinating Secretariat of the Caricom Security Assistance Mechanism. Guyana became the latest member of the grouping that includes Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Kitts-Nevis.

Skerrit told the Council that Dominica has ratified the Caricom Arrest Warrant treaty, which he described as “an important tool to help fight inter-regional crimes”.

“I would urge all of us to ratify this and to ensure that it can come into full effect, not only the five or six or three (Caricom member) countries required to have it come into effect, but all of us must sign on to it.

“It is an important tool that if a Dominican were to commit a crime and flee to another country, we can go in and get him out …and quickly as if he is living in another village in Dominica and so this will certainly help in strengthening the abilities of the various police forces to fight crime and to ensure criminals will find no place anywhere in our region of safety or hide from justice.”

Skerrit told the council that the illegal drugs trade was also another concern to the region and that “we should not tolerate anyone or any group of people having drugs in our countries whether as transhipment points or to be used by our children”.

“It is the responsibility of the whole society …we can’t leave it to the RSS and to the police alone to counteract drug trafficking in our countries. All of us must play our part, politicians, people in the financial institutions, the various Customs and border control entities and the wider society.”

Skerrit insisted that this is a societal problem and that the gathering of intelligence must not only come from the police “but from all of us as citizens who would have information from time to time”.