The recent spike in gun crime has triggered a call by a former government minister and attorney-at-law for the establishment of a national programme to help first-time offenders re-integrate back into society and away from a life of crime and violence.The suggestion from Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley came on the heels of a call from Prime Minister Mia Mottley for a whole of country approach to tackle the issue of crime.So far this year, 12 of the 17 murders recorded involved the use of a gun. Attorney General Dale Marshall recently confirmed the spike in gun crime while assuring residents that gunmen will not be allowed to hijack communities and drive people “into their homes and away from their normal pursuit out of fear”.Speaking on a radio programme on Friday, Lashley, a former government minister in the last Democratic Labour Party Government (DLP) administration, said most men turning up before the law courts were under-educated, unemployed and engaged from early in the use of marijuana.He agreed with a caller to the BrassTacks programme that there was need for “some sort of corrective measures” to be put in place and more to be done in the education system to help young people become more employable or create their own jobs.
