Prime Minister Andrew Holness reiterated yesterday (December 19) that gunmen will face harsher penalties under the new Firearms Act.

Addressing a handover ceremony for two units in Seville Heights, St Ann under the New Social Housing Scheme Programme (NSHP), Holness outlined that persons caught in illegal possession of a firearm will now face a minimum sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment.

He said: “So, all of those little boys running around with guns, who believe that they will go in front of the judge, plead a case and go through some bargaining process and they get six months and come out, rubbish! Weh dem say? Radam! You [are] going get 15 years minimum. Radam!”

He further said: “I am getting a report later today about how many persons we have found with illegal guns, but the report I am interested in is people going to jail to face the new penalties under the new Firearms Act, that is what I am interested in.”

The new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, which was amended in September 2022, introduced a new framework which outlines how much time offenders spend behind bars, which was originally determined by judges.

The act also establishes a dual regime which differentiates between prohibited weapons or unregulated firearms, likewise firearms that are authorised or registered.

Last month, the Government declared a two-week gun amnesty from November 5-19, which allowed individuals in possession of unlicensed firearms to turn them into the police without having to suffer the consequence of the new legislation.

This amnesty concluded with a total of 101 firearms and 3,000 rounds of ammunition surrendered to the police.

According to the prime minister’s report, many of these firearms turned in were from individuals who have not registered their firearms in several years or inherited the firearm after the passing of a relative.