By Sue-Ann Wayow
FORMER Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith agrees with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that the system used for the issuance of legal firearms must be reviewed.
He told AZP News on Thursday that the system was way too slow for someone to acquire a legal firearm.
Griffith, the Political Leader of the National Transformation Alliance (NTA), said, “I do agree that it should be reviewed.”
Paid Political Ad
Commissioners before and after him were the keep back in the issuance of firearms, he said, allowing firearms to be giving to certain people with certain affiliates.
“That is what is wrong,” Griffith said.
He said, “There is nothing wrong with giving firearms to the small farmer, to the small businessman, to the person who is trying to see about securing his family. The only time that was ever done was under my watch and that was only 2000 out of over 50,000 applicants.”
Griffith said if he continued along that trajectory of issuing Firearm User’s Licence (FUL), it would have taken more than two decades before all applicants were dealt with.
He further said that while there was a problem with him issuing firearms, there was now an issue with no firearms being issued resulting in court action where 28 persons are suing the state for significant delays.
“They are going to win and hundreds more now are going to sue the state and it is going to cost the taxpayers tens upon tens of millions of dollars because yet again political interference in the police service,” Griffith said.
In a subsequent media release, he also said that Dr Rowley was attempting to mislead the public by focusing on the number of legal firearms and ammunition.
“His contention that the increase in ammunition amounted to more for civilian use is a lie, since the maximum allowed is 50 per FUL holder,” he said.
Griffith said, “The facts are, when legally imported ammunition is found on a crime scene, it is never from civilian issue, but from ammunition issued to law enforcement agencies.”
In addition, legal firearms were ballistically tested, so should they be used in a crime, they have a ‘fingerprint’ that not only identifies the gun, but marks the ammunition fired from that gun, which is why, in the past year, 100% of murders committed with the use of firearms have been confirmed to be with illegal firearms he said.
“A point that Keith Rowley continues to avoid,” he said.
Griffith also said the plastic FUL card electronically contained all information pertaining to firearms, including the amount of ammunition a FUL holder has was shut down after his tenure and government should be blamed for allowing McDonald Jacob to act in the position who made that directive.
