Fix for firearms folly

SECURITY Minister Dr Horace Chang has moved to allay fears that a loose system at the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA), and absolute power by the minister in charge of the portfolio to authorise permits are resulting in scores of questionable characters being approved for licensed guns.

With the nation still coming to terms with a recently released report from the Integrity Commission into allegations of impropriety, irregularity, and corruption in the issuance of firearm user licences to people of questionable character between 2012 and 2018, Chang on Tuesday declared that measures had been put in place, some five years ago, to bring integrity to the system.

“Since 2017 there have been significant policy changes aimed at correcting the irregularities and deficiencies highlighted in the [Integrity Commission’s] Report. Also of note is that many of these corrective measures will be codified in the new Firearms [Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation] Act, 2022,” said Chang in a media release.

“Following the change of the board of the FLA in 2017, several policy changes have been implemented. There have also been significant ministerial shifts in that the minister of national security no longer reviews the recommendation of the [FLA] Review Board,” added Chang.

He said his team found it inappropriate that a policy unit within the security ministry should be asked to review the work of a panel, headed by no lesser person than a former president of the Court of Appeal, supported by a former senior deputy director of public prosecutions and a retired senior police officer.

“We find the character of the chairman of this panel to be unimpeachable and beyond reproach. As a result, the findings and recommendations of the board are accepted as recommended.

“In addition to that, where the 90-day period [for the review board to consider an application] has passed, I do not intervene but may seek to recommend (where there is a genuine case), through the chief executive officer of the [FLA], for the review board to take an early look at such appeal. I do not exercise my discretion to examine appeals delayed beyond 90 days,” added Chang in a veiled reference to the questions which have been raised about the decisions of former ministers of national security the Jamaica Labour Party’s Robert “Bobby” Montague and the People’s National Party’s Peter Bunting.

In its special report tabled in Parliament last week Tuesday, the Integrity Commission said Montague knowingly granted gun permits to six people with criminal traces when he was security minister between 2016 and 2018 while Bunting, who held the portfolio between 2012 and 2016, granted gun licences to two people who were also of questionable character.

Montague has since resigned from the Cabinet where he was a minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Job Creation and Economic Development, while Bunting has been adamant that he did nothing wrong and has no reason to walk away from his position as a senator.

But in his release yon Tuesday Chang said additionally, administrative processes have been put in at the FLA to prevent the kind of errors and deficiencies outlined in the Integrity Commission report.

Among the new measures introduced since 2017, Chang said, was a system where only FLA board members who attend the meeting are allowed to sign off on applications, and a measure wherein reports should be signed by all board members attending.

According to Chang, there is also now a greater relationship among the National Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence agencies established, as the FLA moves towards a more system check for the security clearance of applicants.

“The FLA board no longer reverses its own decisions or that of previous boards, and the board no longer considers applications unless all security clearances are attached to the files,” added Chang.

He said a machine has been installed which provides electronic reports on the criminal background, if any, of all holders or applicants within seconds, and there has been a discontinuation of the practice where staff members of the FLA, or other third parties, sign for or collect packages on behalf of applicants or holders.

“The deficiencies have been corrected and all processes and appointments kept under constant review for necessary improvements. Those referred to above are being codified in law,” declared Chang.