Guns, Gun Violence and Gun Homicides Perspectives from

the Caribbean, Global South and Beyond

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 Foreword

This book, titled Guns, Gun Violence and Gun Homicides: Perspectives
from the Caribbean, Global South and Beyond is edited by Dr. Wendell C.
Wallace, a Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at The Univer-
sity of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine. Dr. Wallace is also a certified
mediator and a barrister who is called to bar in both England and Wales
and Trinidad and Tobago.
As a sociologist, I have worked collaboratively with Dr. Wallace at The
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. We share similar interests on
migration and crime. Our perspectives cut across disciplines such as soci-
ology, criminology and academic or scientific research. Often times, our
exchanges have been informal, but profound and have left an indelible
mark on my intellect. Sometimes, they have stirred up my thirst for
knowledge and renewed my desire to engage in academic research activity
in the fields of sociology and, criminology and criminal justice. Instruc-
tively, it was important that I grasped the opportunity to author this
foreword as it provided me with the opportunity to emphasize that inter-
disciplinary collaboration between criminologist (Dr. Wallace) and me
(sociologist) is taking place at The UWI.

v
vi Foreword

As a Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dr. Wallace has

been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses at The Univer-
sity of the West Indies, St. Augustine for more than ten years. Some of
the courses taught include Crime, Police and Society, Criminal Justice
Systems and Criminal Law and Procedure. This great scholar has been a
mentor to many students who have benefitted from his years of expe-
rience in criminal justice and academia. Some of them have attained
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and sustainable employment at home and
abroad in a variety of fields.
Dr. Wallace’s passion for academic and scholarly growth activities
through research is exemplary. He has published original, empirical
and theory-driven research in many subfields of criminology and crim-
inal justice. The list includes individual and collaborative studies on
policing, prison conditions, gangs, intimate partner violence and restora-
tive justice. Dr. Wallace has been involved in the cross disciplinary
activity (Social Work and Psychology) as he studies current societal prob-
lems such as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and, gangs and guns
in urban communities particularly ‘Hot Spots’ or high crime areas
along Trinidad’s East-West corridor. In addition, his research agenda has
resulted in the conduct of field research in other Caribbean territories,
namely: Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana.
This book consists of sixteen chapters including an introduction and
a conclusion. Each chapter is written by scholars and academics from
social science disciplines: criminology, demography and sociology. Each
chapter delves into specific aspects of guns, gun violence and gun homi-
cides and others in Australia, the Caribbean, other parts of the global
South including Africa, Asia and Brazil. The book makes a significant
contribution to criminology and criminal justice by proffering scientific
assessments of myriad issues in guns, gun violence, homicide and gun
legislation. When readers delve into the chapters of this book, they will
encounter scholarly, thought provoking and insightful perspectives on
a number of related themes namely mass shootings, peace and secu-
rity, increasing trends and patterns in gun homicides, gang violence
and police use of lethal, deadly or excessive force, declining youth life
expectancy, school drop-out and youth unemployment. An interdisci-
plinary epistemology and ontology are one of the major strengths of this
 Foreword vii

book. This is evident in the use of theories from criminology and crim-
inal justice and sociology. This book makes for interesting reading. In
addition, the history of gun violence in the colonialization of specific
parts of the South has been ventilated in a number of chapters.
The social positioning adopted by contributors to this book may
be viewed from two major interrelated perspectives: dependency and
neo-colonialization. I argue that both perspectives must be couched in
constructionist philosophy. First, in regard to gun supply, it is evident
that the global South is dependent on largely the Global North. On the
whole, it can be argued that the South is a net importer of guns. Some
contributors have pointed to a discernible increase in the use of guns to
commit chiefly capital and property crimes. This raises serious doubt
about the efficacy of governments in the South to provide adequate
surveillance of their borders and implement effective border security in
order to keep out major suppliers and gun traffickers. Also, this book
raises arouses readers’ interest in the dependency of governments in the
South, on international policing agencies such as Interpol, to reduce the
risk of being overrun by gun traffickers from the North and other parts
of the South whose main interest is profit-making.
Second, in this book, it is apparent that an emergent neocolonialist
philosophy in some parts of the South has emerged over the past fifty
years or so. It is characterized by weak government structures, powerful,
elite and autonomous police departments and the near absence of justice
for families and victims of extrajudicial killings. The overarching onto-
logical standpoint gleaned from book chapters is that the combination
of dependency and neo-colonialization has produced increasing crime
rates and trends in the South. This may be the case because dependency
on guns results from the unequal exchange relationship between gun
traffickers who reside outside the South and criminal networks within
it. A salient point is that often gun traffickers sell guns without recip-
rocating purchases. They sell guns, but buy nothing from their clients
in return. In essence, the economics of mercantilism of conventional
colonialization, from the fifteenth Century onwards, dominates the gun
trade as illegitimate guns get into the hands of local. The end result is
growth and strengthening of alternative governments (illegitimate struc-
tures and institutions) that threaten the hegemony of democratically
viii Foreword

elected governments in the South in particular. The globalizing effects of

gun and the gun trade parallel those arising from the financialization and
commodification of legitimate goods and services traded on the World
Market.
This book delves into a number of chapters that illuminate a strength-
ening of the nexus between dependency and neo-colonization in the
Global South. This nexus has evolved and strengthen because of the
South’s apparent inability to stem the trade in illegal guns and increase
in gun crimes within its borders. It is evident that some elites in the
alternate government are bred within the South because some govern-
ments turn ‘a blind eye’ to gun traffickers, extrajudicial killings and the
social malaise stemming from increasing gun violence and gun-related
homicides. This book is worth reading as it provides opportunity for a
reassessment of the impact of globalization in the context of guns in the
Caribbean, the Global South and Beyond.

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Dr. Bennie Berkeley

Tobago
July 2021
 Preface

I was motivated and inspired to author this edited book due to three
separate, yet interconnected factors. The first was the paucity of litera-
ture on guns and gun violence emanating from the Global South. The
second factor was a personal desire to understand the phenomenon and
posit solutions to this pervasive issue. Finally, the third and most nebu-
lous concern was the increased usage of guns in the Caribbean to commit
heinous crimes though the Caribbean does not manufacture guns. With
the aforementioned in mind, the editor of this book is extremely grateful
for the contributions made to this book by the book chapter authors.
Indeed, I am heartened by the efforts made by the authors of these
chapters as they accessed data, captured thoughts, collated them, and
contributed their discourse to this book under extremely trying circum-
stances. Due to the historic time and condition under which this book
was completed (the global pandemic caused by the Covid-19 disease),
several book chapter authors were forced to withdraw their participation.
Instructively, their efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated
as I extend a hearty thank you to these individuals for their noble
efforts. This book includes the work of scholars of diverse career stages,

ix
x Preface

including early, mid- and established career scholars. Further, the schol-
arship contained in this collective emanated from a diverse range of
countries as the career stages of the book chapter authors. For instance,
the research sites for the scholarship contained in this edited book range
from Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, to Bangladesh
in South Asia, Brazil in South Africa to Nigeria and Zimbabwe on
the African continent as well as to Australia. Based on the hard work
conducted by the book chapter authors, the end result is this riveting
and captivating edited book that is a treasure trove of information
about guns, gun violence and gun homicides with perspectives from the
Caribbean, Global South and Beyond. While the chapters are individu-
alized, the contents are generally linked by to the central theme of the
book. Further, primary and secondary data are skilfully interwoven into
every book chapter of this collective. A key feature of this book is the
preventative tips that are contained in each book chapter as the liter-
ature is solutions oriented. Due to the diverse range of book chapter
authors, research sites and contents, emanating from jurisdictions in
some instances that are traditionally un-and under-researched, Guns,
Gun Violence and Gun Homicides: Perspectives from the Caribbean, Global
South and Beyond , provides much needed scholarship that is not based on
Western dicta and adds to the development of criminological literature in
the Global South. Additionally, this edited book facilitates the creation
of scholarship and the transference of knowledge from the Global South,
and thus reorient the traditional colonization of knowledge away from
established status quo.

St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Wendell C. Wallace

 Acknowledgements

The task of being the editor of a manuscript is never an easy task. On one
hand, the job of being the editor may appear to be an exasperating expe-
rience for some individuals, however, on the other hand, the experience
is a gratifying and satisfying one, despite its arduous nature. Instructively,
there are many people and many factors that contribute to the success of
a collective effort such as the one undertaken by the editor of this book.
Much of the work that goes into producing a successful edited book
takes place behind the scene and involves the process of first convincing
the potential publisher of the efficacy and virtue of the book. However,
the process does not end with the acceptance of the proposal as the
process continues to authoring an academically attractive Call For Paper,
accepting and rejecting proposals from book chapter authors, sourcing
reviewers and ensuring that the reviews are conducted in a timely and
fair manner, ensuring that there is a central theme to the collective,
working with book chapter authors and reviewers across different time
zones and who possess different work ethos to those of the book editor,
and ensuring that the full manuscript gets to the publisher on time.

xi
xii Acknowledgements

This book was written in a historic time, under tremendous emotional

stress and environmental turmoil of a global pandemic caused by the
Covid-19 virus. This facilitated a shift away from conventional methods
of data collection to what has been globally referred to as the ‘new
normal’. Indeed, it was no easy feat to complete this collective and it
is imperative that every individual who contributed to the success of this
book production be acknowledged and thanked.
The editor of this book would like to thank Dr. Bennie Berkeley for
agreeing to author the foreword for this book at short notice. The editor
is also indebted to the book chapter authors who worked assiduously to
collect data in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic when others would
have simply given up. To this illustrious team of emerging, mid-career
and established academicians, the editor of this book offers a heartfelt
thank you. I also extend a significant and well-deserved thank you to
those individuals who facilitated requests for data, provided contextual
information via the conduct of interviews, and those individuals who
took time off from their busy schedules to willingly share knowledge
and information on their personal lives with the interviewers, and by
extension, the global audience.
To the three specially invited book chapter authors, Professor Tim
Prenzler and team, Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard and Luiz Phelipe Dal Santo,
thank you for your commitment and contribution to this book. Indeed, I
owe the aforementioned individuals a debt of gratitude as their commit-
ment to this book never wavered. The editor notes that the book chapter
authors acknowledge one another for their contributions to this collec-
tive. Finally, the editor also extends his heartfelt gratitude to the team
at Palgrave Macmillan who oversaw the production of this book and
who offered constant and invaluable advice and who facilitated my every
request. Congratulations, our long deliberations and arduous work is
now rewarded. We did it, and we did it together!!
 Contents

1 Introduction to Guns, Gun Violence and Gun

Homicides: Perspectives from the Caribbean, Global
South and Beyond 1
Wendell C. Wallace

Part I Australia
2 Mass Shootings and Gun Control by Police:
Comparing Australia and the United States 29
Frederic Lemieux, Tim Prenzler, and Samantha Bricknell

Part II The Caribbean

3 Trends and Patterns for Gun Homicide
in Trinidad and Tobago During the Early
Years of the Twenty-First Century: A Data-Driven
Analysis 55
St. Godfrey Bernard

xiii
xiv Contents

4 Gun-Related Violence and Homicides in Dominica:

Why Isn’t There Even More? 91
Peter K. B. St. Jean, Kyra Paul-L’Homme,
and L. Daisy Henderson
5 The Prevalence of Guns and Gun-Related Homicides
in the Caribbean 111
Lorna E. Grant
6 The Use of Lethal Police Force and Its Consequences
for the Mentally Ill and Vulnerable Groups in St.
Lucia 137
Perry Stanislas
7 Understanding Haiti’s Current Phenomenon of Gang
Violence and Illicit Arms Trafficking: A View
from the Lens of Vertical-Horizontal Violence 161
Guyma Noel and Evenson Pierre-Louis
8 The Battle Against the Illicit Gun Trade in Trinidad
and Tobago from a Military Perspective 189
Michelle S. A. Nicholson and Colin L. R. Mitchell
9 Past and Present Trends in Gun Violence and Gangs
and Their Implications in Belize: 2011–2020 211
Wayne J. Pitts and Christopher S. Inkpen
10 An Evaluation of Guns, Gun Violence and Gun
Homicides in Trinidad and Tobago—2010 to 2016 229
Wendell C. Wallace, Ayinka Nikesha Nurse-Carrington,
and Akinee Harry

Part III Africa and Beyond

11 Trends, Precipitating Factors and Control
of Gun-Related Violence and Suicide in Zimbabwe 251
Ishmael Mugari
 Contents xv

12 Gun Violence and Homicide in Nigeria

and Implications for Ethno-Religious Conflicts 271
Declan Ihekwoaba Onwudiwe and Abiodun Raufu
13 Intimate Partner Gun-Violence (IPGV) in Zambia 291
Phanwell Himulambo Namangala
14 Use of Force and Gun Violence in Bangladesh:
The Culture of Extrajudicial Killings by the Law
Enforcement Agencies of Bangladesh 307
M. Ishtiaq Ahmed Talukder
15 Killing and Letting Die: Depicting the Brazilian
Conundrum Between Police Killings and Private
Lethal Practices 329
Luiz Phelipe Dal Santo
16 Conclusion 349
Wendell C. Wallace

Index 355
 Notes on Contributors

St. Godfrey Bernard, Ph.D. is a senior academic at The University of

the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He has studied
population dynamics across Latin America and the Caribbean for almost
forty years. Dr. St. Bernard pioneered the establishment of the M.Sc. in
Development Statistics in 2008 and has successfully co-ordinated that
programme in the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic
Studies (SALISES) between 2008 and 2020. He has advised major
international institutions on technical matters pertaining to predicting,
projecting and forecasting population sizes and other related social and
demographic phenomena across Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr.
St. Bernard is a Past President of the Caribbean Studies Association and
a former Chief Editor of the Journal of the Caribbean Association of
Professional Statisticians.
Samantha Bricknell is the Head of the Indigenous Mental Health
and Suicide Prevention Unit at the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare. She was previously Research Manager of the Crime and Justice
Statistics Program at the Australian Institute of Criminology, including
the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia Program, National Deaths in
Custody Program, National Homicide Monitoring Program and Human
Trafficking and Slavery Research Program.
xvii
xviii Notes on Contributors

Lorna E. Grant is an Associate Professor and Director of the M.Sc.

Programme in the Department of Criminal Justice Department, North
Carolina Central University. She earned her Doctorate in Juvenile Justice
from Prairie View A & M University, Texas, B.Sc. in Social Work and
MSW in Social Work Administration from The University of the West
Indies, Jamaica. Prior to joining the faculty at North Carolina Central
University, she taught at The University of the West Indies, Jamaica
and Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta. Dr. Grant is a member of The
American Society of Criminology (ASC) and The Academy of Crim-
inal Justice Sciences (ACJS). Her research interest includes, but is not
limited to youth gangs, juvenile justice issues, school violence, juve-
nile sex offenders, policing in Jamaica, community building and project
development and implementation. Dr. has recently edited a book with
two of her colleagues entitled Crime and Violence in the Caribbean. She
has published numerous research articles in international peer reviewed
journals.
Akinee Harry holds a B.Sc. in Criminology and Public Safety from
the University of Trinidad and Tobago. He is a postgraduate student
at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, where
he is pursuing an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice. His
research interests include, but are not limited to, juvenile delinquency,
prisons and restorative justice. Akinee has recently published the book
Redirecting Fate: Rising Above My Troubled Past.
L. Daisy Henderson is a native of Dominica and an Assistant Professor
of Sociology at the Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan.
She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology at the University at
Buffalo State University of New York in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
Her research interests include race, ethnicity, family (specifically families
in foster care), inequality and stratification. In addition to the teaching
and mentoring of students at the college level, her work involves a
commitment to student success and building an inclusive campus.
Christopher S. Inkpen, Ph.D. is a Research Sociologist and Demogra-
pher in the Division for Applied Justice Research at RTI International.
In 2018, he co-directed the project, ‘Improving the Data Ecosystem
for Governance Decision Making in Belize’. Funded by the UStates