Cop calls to amend Act

A SENIOR police officer has called for the Firearm Act to be amended to trace the source of guns and apprehend suspects.
National Forensic Services director Chief Superintendent Philip Rambaliku said the legislation needed to be amended so that all guns imported must be tested at the National Police Science Forensic centre laboratory and recorded.
“We can test the firearms and register the pin numbers of the casing and bullets and match them to the firearms,” he said.
“We will register these information in our records so that when there is a killing or injury caused by a firearm, we can easily trace the firearm by testing the discarded casing collected at the crime scene and bullet retrieved from the victim.
“When we get the result, we can check with our records to find out whose firearm was used.”
Rambaliku said the law now allowed anyone with a gun licence to import guns.
“And so it is very hard to identify a firearm from a discarded casing or a bullet if the firearm has not been surrendered to us,” he said.
“Also the proposed forensic legislation submitted two year ago to the Law Reform Commission has to be (fast-tracked).
“It will surely help detectives collect and test samples of specimens left by the suspects so that the courts can convict and sentence criminals.
“Right now we are depending on the Criminal Code Act and it is not effective.”