PM’s son gets gun licence

The licence which was applied for at the end of January was granted by the Commissioner mere days after the application was forwarded to him by Cpl Peters, the Head of the Firearms Bureau.

Manning who listed his address as Number 2, Federation Park, applied for the Licence for personal protection. The address suggests that he lives at the official residence of the Prime Minister and is afforded Special Branch protection. Yesterday, the licence was personally delivered to Brian Manning by officers of Special Branch.

Manning (B), has already applied to a certified firearms instructor to start training for two months in preparation for use of a 9 mm pistol.

His training is expected to start today and when he receives a certifacte of competence, he will be granted a Firearm Users Licence to carry a 9 mm pistol. Yesterday, Secretary of the Police Second Division Sgt Noel Chase described the granting of the licence by the Commissioner to Brian Manning as highly irregular and cause for concern. He said that his association will be looking into the matter because several police whose lives are under threat because they work in high-risk areas have applied for Firearm Users Licences, and have been refused by Commissioner Paul. Chase said that clearly, Commissioner Paul flouted the Police Service Regulation, adding that no one is exempt from satisfying the necessary requirements when applying for a gun licence.

Special branch sources said yesterday that they were just acting on instructions when they delivered the application for a gun by Manning’s son. They added that the onus was on the Commissioner to grant the licence.

Up until yesterday 43 persons were murdered for the year so far, and although Prime Minister Manning has assured the citizens of the country that everything is being done to deal with the crime wave, the crime statistics on serious crimes reveal otherwise.

On Friday, officers of the Firearms Section expressed concern over the haste by Commissioner Paul to grant the Provisional Licence in mere days.

Officers claimed that the application form by Manning was delivered to them by a senior Special Branch Officer with no supporting documents attached.

Sources revealed that the application was taken to Commissioner Paul who granted the Provisional Licence without asking for the necessary documents as specified under Section 12 of the Firearms Amendment Act.

According to Section 8 of the Police Standing Order number 40, police men investigating the application for a Firearm Users Licence shall interview the applicant and ensure that he/she is 25 years of age and upwards. The police must ensure that the applicant is of good character; have a valid certificate of character; the applicant must have temperate habits; is mentally and physically fit and capable of using the type of firearm required; must satisfy the need for the type of firearm required; ascertain whether the applicant is a restricted person as defined in Section three of the firearms act 16:01, and interview persons to find out about the character of the applicant.

The officer must submit the file with his recommendation and supporting documents to the senior officer in charge of the area where the applicant resides. The senior officer will then submit his recommendations and then submit it to the Commissioner of Police for the final approval.

Newsday learnt that this was never done. Sources at the Firearms Section told Newsday that they are now dealing with more than 1,000 applications for Provisional Licences but the applicants are still waiting because the necesarry investigations are taking place. Applicants normally wait six months to a year before they are granted Provisional licences. Due to the crime wave in the country hundreds of citizens have applied for Provisional gun licences for personal protection.

More than 80 percent of the applicants are turned down.