Not all CID ranks have access to firearms while on duty – Crime Chief

In light of the recent spike in criminal activities in Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), several senior ranks attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) are of the view that they should be granted access to firearms as a safety measure.

A few of them told Guyana Times that their jobs, by nature, leaves them exposed to criminal elements and can result in them losing their lives while executing their duties.
One of the officers explained that at some police stations, there are CID ranks who are in charge of their department and are granted access to firearms. Meanwhile, at others in the same region, ranks of the same level are not being allowed to access any.
“It seems like it is based on who you know and who knows you. I mean, some of those CID police get the access to the firearms to have on them whereas others who hold the same rank at other police stations and doing the same job don’t get that granted to them. At the end of it all, we are all doing the same work and, therefore, if you give some it looks bad that others cannot have that privilege which is to protect yourself and your life,” he told this publication.
However, Crime Chief Lyndon Alves in an interview explained that not every police officer can be given access to firearms simply because that provision is made based on the roles of the policemen on a daily basis.
“We have ranks who would uplift firearms from the station to perform duties and that is based on the determination of Station Sergeant or Officer-In-Charge based on the duty that they are going on. Well, you have ranks based on their role and function and their duty and you will have protection because of what the duty that you are doing, that is for specific duties. So they will need for them to have access to firearms at any point in time.”
He further stated there are also police officers who have applied for firearms in their personal capacities and would have received the relevant documentation to own one privately.
“They might have personal firearm being given permission to purchase and license. You have policemen who have their personal firearm. I don’t know if that is the case they are referring to.”
Nonetheless, the Crime Chief noted that in the recent shoot-out between Police and bandits in Berbice, each rank present at the scene was armed.
“They were all sent out and every single one of them had a firearm in their possession because of the nature of that duty. It was a specific duty and, therefore, each police rank that was deployed there had to be armed. So it is not like we would have sent them out in such a situation without being prepared,” Alves added. (Kristen Macklingam)