Dominica moves to curb realistic toy guns amid crime concerns
Key Points(5)
- Dominica’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Sherma Dalrymple, has issued a strong warning about the dangers and legal consequences of using realistic imitation firearms, emphasizing their role in serious crimes and potential impact on youth.
- “Anyone who contravenes this provision is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $3,000 or to imprisonment for one year, or to both,” Dalrymple said, noting that courts have discretion to impose both penalties depending on the circumstances.
- Assistant Commissioner of Police Alleyne Maximae echoed these concerns, highlighting multiple incidents in which imitation firearms were used to commit crimes, including a September 2023 attempted robbery at MAM’s Supermarket in Massacre and robberies at Lindo Park and NP gas stations.
- He also referenced a 2013 robbery in Newtown involving a similar weapon.
- “These were not real firearms,” Maximae said.
Dominica’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Sherma Dalrymple, has issued a strong warning about the dangers and legal consequences of using realistic imitation firearms, emphasizing their role in serious crimes and potential impact on youth.
Speaking on the Ministry of National Security’s DBS Radio programme, Dalrymple cited Section 39 of Dominica’s Firearms Act, which prohibits the manufacture, modification, sale, and importation of realistic imitation firearms—objects that so closely resemble real guns that only an expert could tell the difference.
“Anyone who contravenes this provision is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $3,000 or to imprisonment for one year, or to both,” Dalrymple said, noting that courts have discretion to impose both penalties depending on the circumstances.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Alleyne Maximae echoed these concerns, highlighting multiple incidents in which imitation firearms were used to commit crimes, including a September 2023 attempted robbery at MAM’s Supermarket in Massacre and robberies at Lindo Park and NP gas stations. He also referenced a 2013 robbery in Newtown involving a similar weapon.
“These were not real firearms,” Maximae said. “Persons may think it’s just a toy, but they can be used in the commission of offences. They’re not just toys.”
Dalrymple suggested that the importation of toy guns may need to be reconsidered, pointing to the risk of normalizing firearms among children and youth. “Left to me, I would just ban the importation of toy guns,” she said. “Are we going to nurture our young minds to accept that a gun is just a toy?”
She indicated that a formal submission on the matter may be made to the Attorney General, underlining the broader public safety and youth development implications.
