Opposition Sen. Ashworth Azille has warned that mandatory prison sentences alone will not reduce gun crime, arguing that Antigua and Barbuda needs a broader strategy addressing crime prevention, policing, youth development and the conditions pushing young people toward violence.

Speaking during debate on the Firearms Amendment Bill, 2026, Azille said the legislation had arrived as people across the country were “living under a state of fear” and questioning what could be done to make their communities safer.

He said promises and political sound bites were no longer enough to reassure the public.

“The important question for us to answer here today is whether or not the amendments as proposed, particularly as it relates to imposing stiffer sentences, mandatory sentences on offenders, whether that alone will satisfy the remedy for reducing the proliferation of gun crimes,” Azille said.

The opposition senator acknowledged that the bill was timely and supported firm punishment for people who illegally possess or supply firearms, threaten others with guns, take lives or destroy property.

However, he said the legislation should not be treated as a “single bullet” capable of solving the wider crime problem.

“This piece of legislation alone cannot guarantee us that we will have a reduction in gun crimes going forward,” Azille said.

He said families wanted to know that their children could leave home in the morning and return safely, while service station operators and employees wanted similar reassurance when reporting for work.

Azille noted that several recent robberies had occurred during daylight hours and said perpetrators were no longer merely stealing property.

“They’re coming to rob and kill,” he said.

He questioned why gunmen appeared increasingly emboldened and what weaknesses in the country’s systems were allowing violent incidents to occur with such frequency.

Azille read from a list of shootings reported between January and September, including home invasions, robberies and killings involving teenagers and other young people.

He named Omari Lewis, Brianna Clark and Sequania Anthony among the victims whose deaths should not be reduced to crime statistics.

“Beyond that incident of crime, there is a family, there is a mother, there is a child, there’s an aunt who’s languishing at home, suffering from the loss of a loved one,” he said.

Azille also referred to recent armed robberies at service stations, saying the size of some of the weapons reportedly used raised questions about how firearms were entering Antigua and Barbuda and remaining available to criminals.

“Where are these weapons coming from?” he asked. “And what are we really doing to ensure that they can no longer be available on our streets to persons who are not licensed to carry firearms?”

Azille called for the police to provide more frequent updates on investigations, arrests and the number of gun crimes that ultimately resulted in convictions.

He said he had raised the matter with a senior Criminal Investigations Department officer, who acknowledged that the police could do more to keep the public informed.

Azille said he was not requesting information that could compromise investigations or prosecutions. Instead, he wanted basic public bulletins demonstrating that cases were advancing beyond the arrest of suspects.

He warned that an apparent lack of progress could deepen public fear and embolden criminals.

Azille also questioned whether longer sentences would deter repeat offenders, saying the threat of imprisonment did not appear to discourage some people determined to commit crimes or seek revenge.

He rejected attempts to reduce the problem to blame directed solely at parents, schools or any other group. Crime, he argued, was a deep social problem requiring responsibility from all major institutions.

Schools, families, churches, youth organisations and government agencies must work together to steer children away from crime, he said.

Azille, an educator, said he had personally seen the benefits of involving young people in activities that matched their interests, encouraged creativity and taught communication and conflict resolution.

He called for structured programmes with clear and measurable results, saying Antigua and Barbuda frequently launched initiatives without properly assessing whether they achieved their objectives.

“We cannot sit here and cast a wide blanket and suggest that somehow all of our young people are doomed,” Azille said. “All of our young people are involved in this criminal activity.”

He said even one young person becoming involved in crime was too many, but maintained that the country should avoid condemning an entire generation.

Azille also criticised what he described as the government’s tendency to respond to social problems with “knee-jerk” and “pocket-size” decisions rather than comprehensive policies.

While welcoming the installation of additional surveillance cameras ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Azille said improvements to public safety should be made primarily for residents, not merely to protect the country’s international image or accommodate visitors.

“I am a proponent for fixing it for those of us who must live here way beyond the conference,” he said.

Azille called for crime prevention to receive sustained funding and warned political leaders against denying failures because acknowledging them might be politically inconvenient.

“We cannot view everything through political eyes,” he said.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Azille warns tougher gun sentences alone will not make Antigua and Barbuda safer.