By Carlisle Jno Baptiste
Roseau, Dominica, January 14, 2026-Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Dominica, Sherma Dalrymple, has called on the legal profession in the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to consider the social context that our small island states face, given the instances of gun violence now running “as a disease within our states.”
She made her comments as she addressed the Court at the opening of the New Law Year in Dominica.
“We, custodians of the legal systems within our OECS states,s must ensure that justice and equality are meted out by our laws and also ensure that there is a constant evaluation and refinement of legal frameworks to ensure that they align with evolving societal problems and societal norms and society is knowledgeable of the law,” she said.
“Let’s consider the social content that our small island states face. Instances of gun violence run as a disease within our states. Times of festivities, carnival, Christmas, village fests, and community cultural events have the dark shadow lucking of gun crime being perpetrated. The news and social media regularly bring shock waves in our communities with stories of violent gun-related offences. Phrases such as double murders, a man gunned down, shooting claims the life of, police investigating the shooting death of ……… “young man in critical condition after sustaining gunshot wounds are plastered on the media way too often in these times.”
According to the DPP, OECS member states have “robust legislative frameworks in respect of firearms offences, be it the Firearms Acts, anti-gang legislation, and also sentencing guidelines which make provision to be deterred from with good reason.”
“However, we ought not to be sidetracked and put the blame only on members of society and not on us. We ought not to jump to the conclusion that individuals don’t respect the law. Consider making the law respectable. Are we as administrators of the justice system advocating against the plague that is affecting our small island states? Do we feel insulated because we live in our upscale communities and gated communities? Do we feel insulated because we work in our air-conditioned offices, and we don’t do criminal law? Do we feel protected because of the position we hold in the administration ofthe criminal justice system, we have an armed security officer. Do we have the notion in our well-educated heads that the police have their work out for them, or that the police aren’t doing enough? Is this the job of the Police only? Haven’t we forgotten that in 2014, Senior Counsel Dana Seethal was gunned down in Port of Spain on her way home? Haven’t we forgotten that on New Year’s Eve 2024, Attorney-at-law and Special Prosecutor Randall Hector, at the age of 43, was shot and killed after coming from church? This happened in the presence of his wife and children,” She stated.
“I plead with you colleagues, with you honorable judges, with you court workers and court administrators, defense counsel, and prosecutors to fully understand that we have to make the law respectable. We have to take a stance against the senseless killings in our small island states. We have to make the law respectable. Bar Associations need to speak out. The public ought to be educated by attorneys on the law and the repercussions of breaching the law. The courts need to take a clear stance against these violent offences and apply the law. It is a unified approach that has to be done. We have to be active participants in the process; we can’t just wait until it reaches the court, when an accused is before the court.”
The DPP remarked that by “this time, a life has been taken, a family is grieving, and an individual’s liberty is now at stake.”
She warned that, given the situation, “We can’t sit in the comfort of our bar association meetings and not bring up this societal problem. Are we to continue attending OECS conferences and meetings, not consider that we ought to start to put protocols and new laws in place to deal with this societal problem?”
“We have been trained that the law commands respect. The laws of the land are to be respected, but we are custodians of the law and ought to make the law respectable…we need to be active in this pursuit and not leave it up to society to respect the law,” she stated.
She called on her colleagues to be actively participating in shaping the law to deal with this problem, stating that she hoped that her statement had “not set an atmosphere of gloom today.” “It was my only intention to convey to you that we understand that we have a problem which we, of this noble profession,n cannot change. Our beautiful small island states with our rich cultures, our high values, and beautiful landscapes are under attack, and we embody a force that can cause this change; we are the ones who can make the law respectable.”