ACTING Police Commissioner David Ramnarine has refuted allegations of being corrupt and biased in the issuing of firearm licences, contending that he has never approved a riffle for anyone unless it has first been approved by the Firearm Licensing Board.

Addressing reporters at the Police Public Relations Office at Eve Leary, Ramnarine said there is a lot of loose talk about selling firearm licence.
“Let’s launch an investigation; let’s not launch an investigation 10 years ago about what happened, or five years ago about what happened; let’s launch an investigation starting this year. Let me make it more explicit: let’s launch it from the 1st July this year,” the acting top cop said.

He challenged the authorities to launch the investigation to inquire who is behind making firearm licences a business.

“I saw on a certain website that I am selling firearm licence daily, and I’m making millions of dollars…. I was not the one who granted firearm licences to a known drug trafficker who skipped the United States, came to this country and set up himself; and he has dozens of firearm licences,” Ramnarine said.

He added: “I am the one who refused to entertain an application from a relative of a known drug kingpin who requested additional firearm licences.”

Ramnarine said that, during his stewardship as acting Police Commissioner, he refused many applications and also refused granting firearm upgrades.

“I have carefully considered whatever I have granted with the authority vested in me as the acting Commissioner of Police. Those security services that really need additional firearm licences, I have been in deep and regular consultation with the subject minister on almost all of these occasions, and I have been assured that my actions are above board,” Ramnarine explained.

Former GDF Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier (rtd) Mark Phillips, on Friday said incidents of gun-related crime in the country are at their highest, and he has ranked the issue as the most pressing matter facing society.

Phillips, who retired as Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) earlier this month, was at the time addressing a security forum and expo organised by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) at Duke Lodge in Kingston, Georgetown.

“I place at number one (the issue of) violent crime, because notwithstanding the crime statistics that speaks to a reduction in crime, it is my firm belief as a citizen of Guyana that the high incidence of gun-related crimes is today the most pressing problem in the Guyanese society,” Phillips told the gathering of heads of private security firm, among other stakeholders.

The Guyana Police Force had earlier this month reported a 21 per cent decline in serious crimes at the end of September, but Phillips reiterated his position while speaking as a citizen.

“I am simply stating that citizen security is the measure of state security; since the extent to which the people of Guyana can live in freedom and safety is the extent to which the state is secure,” Phillips added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security is creating a special ‘firearm management system’ that would assist agencies in determining the legality of a firearm holder, since such persons would be listed in a database of registered gun holders.

The firearm management system would also provide a paper trail on how a gun was acquired, since it would show the steps that were taken all the way to the Firearm Licensing Board.

The Commissioner of Police and divisional commanders, who are the first set of authorities to be approached in the licensing process, would help review licences to determine whether or not they should be renewed.