Bermuda to implement gang CeaseFire programme

National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief said the services of reformed gang members would be utilized to defuse violence between rival gangs.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, Wednesday October 26, 2011 - National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief said the services of reformed gang members would be utilized to defuse violence between rival gangs under a structured CeaseFire programme.

He said the intervention would help reign in the unprecedented gang-related violence that has resulted in 16 murders in the last two years.

“We have started to implement some aspects of the programme as community groups have been speaking to gang members on the streets and in their homes,” the national security said.

“But this has always been done on an ad hoc basis, we now need more of a structured approach. I'm really enthusiastic about the mediation part of this programme to try to stop the violence. We need to involve the gang members themselves, we also need to get mothers on board to try to calm down situations.”

He noted that the CeaseFire programme has had a dramatic impact in some of the world's most troubled cities.

The national security minister disclosed plans to invite those who started the initiative to the country to formally train reformed gang members.

He was speaking at the end of a five-day visit to the island by Ricardo ‘Cobe' Williams, a former gang member in the US, who was promoting the award-winning film “Interrupters' that told the story of  tackling gun violence. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)