Commissioner of Police (CoP) Allister Guevarro has moved to allow select off-duty officers to carry their firearms home. He unveiled this yesterday among new policy decisions aimed at ensuring the safety of officers and enhancing the operational capacity of the T&T Police Service (TTPS).
Speaking during his appearance on the TTPS’ flagship television programme Beyond the Tape, Guevarro said he will also be moving to entertain Firearm Users Licence (FUL) applications not more than six months old.
Guevarro said, “I can’t be arming the members of the public and not be treating with my own officers.”
He assured law enforcement agents, “You have not been left behind.”
Saying he had visited the TTPS Armoury on Thursday and asked for an audit of all the idle and serviceable pistols, the CoP said, “It is my intention to institute an off-duty firearm policy where I will be arming all of my frontline, tactical and operational officers.
“So that in the past, even after they treat with a criminal, they would have had to sign off their weapons...well let me tell you, my officers will not have to sign off their guns again.”
He said he also said he would address all FULs applied for within the last six months.
“So, if you have an application and it is not gone past six months, I will entertain that application for a decision,” he said.
The six-month time frame, he explained, will ensure that the supporting documents, such as the Certificate of Character (CoC), will still be valid when the application comes up for review.
He stated, “One of the criteria for getting a FUL is a certificate of good character, and that is only valid for six months. So having an invalid certificate of character...you can’t move forward.”
Other valid documents which must accompany FUL applications include a medical certificate, a psychometric evaluation and letters from spouses.
The CoP stressed the documents must be updated to reflect the current circumstances of applicants, which could have changed since the FUL application had been submitted.
He urged, “A lot can change in half a year, so we need to get that updated.”
With over 55,000 FUL applications awaiting decisions, the Firearm Unit has been instructed to return outdated applications to divisional offices so they can be updated, he said.
Guevarro has promised that advertisements will be published in the media outlining the full list of requirements to complete the process.
On the issue of pepper spray permits, he admitted, “We have issued 225 pepper spray permits to date and we have approximately 800 pending applications.”