Police blamed for gun permit application delays
Lawmakers and the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) wrestled to agree on a deadline for gun application decisions amid concerns about systemic inefficiencies that cause decisions to lag for more than a year.
Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang argued that investigations that take longer than six months signal that there is a genuine problem.
He said if the FLA could not divulge confidential intelligence to the client, the information should be communicated to the appeal board.
“Public service must have some minimum standards. We cannot continue to operate where there is a loose end that if you’re Government, you can wait until Thy kingdom comes,” Chang said during Tuesday’s joint select committee meeting reviewing the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulations) Act, 2022.
But FLA CEO Shane Dalling has asserted that the authority could be subject to a number of challenges if applicants awaiting a decision for six to 12 months are granted an automatic right to appeal.
Dalling said the delays experienced by applicants are not caused by the FLA.
“We have to await a criminal records report from the police. The applicant pays for a 30-day service from the police, and in cases sometimes, six months pass and we don’t receive that report from the police,” he lamented, adding that intelligence gathering sometimes takes a year.
Dalling argued that the FLA can complete its own vetting within three months of receiving an application but said it has no sway over the scrutiny of external partners.
Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said the concern is born out of the current experience of FLA applicants where applications are made and nothing is communicated to them within a reasonable time.
“So much so that they have to resort to all kinds of other methods than what may be appropriate to find out what is happening. I do believe that given the efficiencies that are being built into the system, including the use of technology, it is not unreasonable to ask for a time frame,” she said.
While she agreed that Dalling’s points were valid, Malahoo Forte said within the FLA’s control is the power to communicate with an applicant.
Dalling said a tracking system is already in place and automatically updates applicants once there is movement in the process.
But Malahoo Forte urged the FLA CEO to demonstrate an accommodating posture rather than reflexive opposition to providing a time-bound response to matters.
“The truth is that people are utterly frustrated in dealing with state authorities and anything we can do to improve on that has to be done, and sometimes it may mean compelling that decisions are taken within a time frame and the decision here would be communicating,” the minister explained.
Further, she said it is not appropriate for applications to linger and for persons to be left in the dark.
Dalling said he was in full agreement with Malahoo Forte.
He also shared that he has had numerous meetings with external partners seeking to improve on the turnaround time for firearm licences.
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