CABINET has discussed reintroducing a gun amnesty policy as a way of reducing the number of illegal weapons on the street.

When asked about the possibility of a gun amnesty period on Friday, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said there have been some discussions about it.

“Well that’s still a preliminary issue but that has been discussed amongst members of the Cabinet. It is a proposal that has come forward to address the amount of guns that are on the streets and that’s actively being looked at both from a policy level and a legal level,” he said.

Through this initiative, which previously existed in various iterations, illegal weapons could be anonymously turned into designated pastors and churches.

The gun amnesty was in place temporarily during the last Christie administration.

In 2018, after a spate of violent crime, Bahamas Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander called for the return of a gun amnesty programme.

Last week, Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said officers continue to target gun traffickers and crack down on the importation of illegal firearms into the country.

He said many of the illegal weapons are being smuggled into the country from the United States, some through courier companies.

“We have identified that the majority of those firearms, illegal firearms, have been coming from Florida,” Commissioner Rolle said. “In particular, and what we’ve found is in recent months is a number of courier services that have sprung up in the southern communities and I have asked our partners to assist us in identifying these persons and companies and we have our liaison officers in Florida who are also working in partnership. That is yielding positive results for us as we try to interdict a lot of this firearm that is destined for The Bahamas.”

According to Commissioner Rolle, more than 100 illegal weapons have been seized by officers so far for the year, however, this does not include those intercepted abroad.