PM laments: No convictions under Firearms Act

THE Prime Minister says ongoing investigations into the affairs of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) are causing certain people to become concerned.

Dr Rowley made the comment at the PNM Diego Martin West 51st annual constituency conference on August 3.

Rowley also questioned why no one had been convicted of any offence under the Firearms Act.

He told PNM members that at last week's Caricom heads of government meeting in Grenada, Caricom leaders spent most of their meeting in caucus, discussing crime in the region.

"Every single one of the prime ministers who were there had this fierce urgency to have Caricom focus on the matter, because it's a problem in every Caricom territory."

Rowley told PNM members that Attorney General Reginald Armour attended the meeting with him, and other prime ministers brought their attorneys general as well.

He then listed a series of offences under the Firearms Act and their associated penalties.

Rowley asked his audience, " Have you ever heard anybody in this country being penalised like that?"

The audience gave no reply.

One of the offences Rowley mentioned was selling or transferring firearms or ammunition to an unauthorised person or people.

On summary conviction, the penalty is $500,000 or ten years' imprisonment.

Rowley said if the charge is laid indictably, the penalty is 20 years' imprisonment. He added that for repeat offenders, the penalty was 25 years' imprisonment.

Rowley reminded PNM members that last month in the House of Representatives, he said "what what we have discovered in one of the investigations going on now is that police ammunition ended up in the SSA, unbeknownst to the NSC (National Security Council)."

In his statement in the House, Rowley said the audit also showed a former SSA director initiated the procurement of high-grade military bolt-action rifles, complete with the most modern silencers and other accessories, and the agency was involved in training "specially selected, questionably hired personnel in the skill and use of such weapons."

He said police were also investigating the whereabouts and use of 70,000 rounds of ammunition bought by the SSA, which are unrecorded and unaccounted for.

On March 2, former SSA director retired Major Roger Best was sent on administrative leave and TT's US ambassador, Brig-General Anthony Phillips-Spencer was appointed acting SSA director. An audit into the SSA began in March.

Best, who was fired on May 19, has claimed his dismissal stemmed from his “resistance to political influence.”

In Grenada, Rowley continued, Caricom leaders discussed the question of the inordinate delay in  dispensing justice and the disconnect between the decision-makers in the judiciary and those who experience crime in the streets or in their homes.

"Caricom prime ministers are in fact flabbergasted that some people believe that we are not yet sufficiently under the gun, literally and figuratively, when they make decisions about the few criminals that we put our hands on."

In TT, Rowley continued, the Parliament has passed several strong laws to deal with crime.

But he said, "Some people believe that the situation is not bad enough to apply what the Parliament says should apply."

Rowley did not identify who those people were.

He said criminals act like the "devil in hell, but in the court, put on their best suit and their best clothes and get a lawyer to come and say (he) is a good boy, it's a first offence."

Rowley repeated, "The reason criminals have no respect for the enforcement of law in this country is because there is no proper enforcement of law, so they don't regard what the Parliament has put in place."

He said the scenario would only change once people got a proper understanding of crime.

"Right now there is no real understanding of that by the population. The national narrative is deficient or deliberately misleading.

"How bad does it have to get for the Parliament to review this?"