Warning shots

An armed robber who had the rather ludicrous idea to rob the Carrefour Market in Cole Bay on Sunday came just in time to his senses when he was confronted by police officers. It took a warning shot – inside the store – but it worked.

While this incident ended peacefully, we all know that things could easily have gone haywire as well – for the police officers on duty, but also for the reckless youngster with the gun in his hand.

There is no shortage of firearms on the island and one may well wonder why this is so. These weapons do not grow on trees, so they have to enter the territory one way or the other.

Do they come from the French side? That is a tempting thought, but it would suggest that on the Dutch side everything is in order as far as import-controls is concerned while our neighbors mess things up.

We figure that the port and the airport are up for serious scrutiny – especially the port where all kinds of stuff arrives in containers.

We know that the immigration department on the Dutch side is in a shambles; if immigration officers – four so far – are letting people through who should not be here, wouldn’t they look the other way as well when weapons are coming in?

It is high time for a serious shake up of this department and to give the people who are doing their duty there as they should all the support they can get.