A GOVERNMENT senator yesterday raised concerns that the police have not been providing receipts to some licensed firearm holders whose weapons they have been seizing.Speaking in the Senate yesterday, Senator Tom Tavares-Finson, an attorney-at-law, said in the last month, the police have confiscated the guns of several licensed firearm holders.
He said the firearms were taken when the holders presented their weapons to the stations for examination as a prerequisite for renewing their licences.
"There is no legal authority for the police to act in this way," Tavares-Finson stressed yesterday during the debate on a bill to amend the Firearms Act.
Senator Dwight Nelson, who is the acting minister of national security, interjected saying the police should not be blamed for the actions they take in seizing licensed firearms.
Complaints
He said persons who believe that the police have acted in contravention of the law can take their complaint to the review board established under law.
"In these times, we must give the police the latitude to act in a situation where they think that there is a threat," he said.
Chairman of the Firearms Licensing Authority, Errol Strong, confirmed that the police had seized several licensed firearms.
He said the police are empowered to seize the firearms of persons if they have information that the weapons might be used in an illegal manner.
However, Strong raised concerns that the authority had not received reports from the police outlining the grounds for the seizures.
Since the start of the year, the authority has revoked some 15 gun licences.
The Firearms Licensing Authority is the only body in Jamaica with the power to revoke the licences of firearm holders.
During yesterday's debate, the Senate validated and confirmed the actions and decisions of officials at the Firearms Licensing Authority and Review Board since 2005.
The validation was necessary because the legislation, passed in 2005, was not gazetted and therefore, was not properly enforced.
The bill was passed by the Senate.
