PM: Stop firearms use

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has put an immediate stop to the use of high-powered firearms by police on a daily basis.
O’Neill prefers the use of firearms to be restricted to special circumstances such as when the police are being called out by the government to perform national security and emergency operations.
That preference and other uses of high-powered arms will be regulated and administered under an enabling legislation and administrative guidelines, he said.
“The use of these firearms has become regular and sometimes quite unnecessary. This has notably become a growing concern for the public and communities at large,” he said.
On Tuesday, he wrote to Police Minister Nixon Duban to immediately order the return of all high-powered firearms to police armories which must be stored securely.
“When securely stored at armories, no high-powered firearm should be issued without proper authorisation,” he said.
He directed Duban to review the use of the firearms policy as part of a holistic restructure of the police force.
“As for the normal day-to-day policing, side arms can be carried preferably by senior officers.  I know there will be concerns raised about the safety of police officers, particularly when high-powered arms are being used by criminals.
“In such situations, special exemptions can be granted by the police commissioner,” O’Neill said.
He said the offices of the police minister and the attorney general would create an enabling administrative and legislative framework for the controlled use of high-powered firearms.