CoP: Don't use insect spray to ward off attackers

Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith is not advocating for women or girls to use insecticide as a non-lethal weapon to defend themselves from possible attacks.

Griffith said on Tuesday he supported the use of pepper spray, which has been proven to save women's lives in developing countries around the world.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing at Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, he addressed the issue of violent attacks on women.

He said he intended to approach the Attorney General to regulate the distribution of pepper spray to women, much as he does with guns, to prevent it from falling in the hands of criminals.
In response to a query about whether police would arrest someone found in possession of pepper spray, which was illegal, the commissioner said he was aware that many women already carry it around in their handbags out of fear and desperation, because they had the perception that the State could not protect them.

"You could have a tin or aerosol, and people have used this as a backup," he said. "The difference with using a tin of insect repellent is that the spray itself would not be as effective as pepper spray."

Griffith said on Wednesday that insect repellent can harm people if used inappropriately and that his comment was taken out of context in earlier reports.