|
Conduct occasional random checks
2006-06-05 10:31:14
By Editor
The decision by the Police calling for owners of firearms to have their weapons re-registered is a welcome move that is in fact overdue.
According to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Saidi Mwema, the move is in response to the international convention in which Tanzania is signatory, that requires countries in the Great lakes region and other SADC members to re-register firearms. This will curb the spread and misuse of illegal small arms.
Another reason is of course to update the Police’s records in regard to possession of firearms. We doubt whether such kind of exercise has ever been done for decades.
We think that with or without responding to some international protocols, there is the need for the concerned authorities to undertake occasional record checks on people who have been licensed to possess weapons.
In the circumstances, we advise the Police that apart from their carrying out such an exercise once after decades, they should also be making occasional random checks on selected firearm owners.
We think that the practice would put the licensees on alert as regards to ownership of firearms and their observance of the regulations governing ownership.
For instance, they should make random visits to licensees’ residences to find out how safely they keep the weapons in their homes as well as the ammunition - whether or not unauthorized people, including children could have access to them.
Incidents have been reported whereby people in the household have been wounded or even killed accidentally by children using firearms of their parents that have not been safely stored.
All in all, for Tanzania the move is nevertheless timely due to recent increase of criminal activities in the country, mostly armed robberies, which saw the use of small arms. Several innocent Tanzanians have lost their lives in these incidents.
The exercise whose duration will be strictly one month may flush out owners who might no longer be in possession of the weapons as per police records - either having ’’lost’’ them into the hands of criminals and then failed or were hesitant to report to the Police, or having ’’lent’’ them to criminals and have not yet been returned.
Either possibility is likely, as criminal gangs in armed robberies could have used the weapons.
Empty bullet shells found by the Police at the scenes of crime could also give an indication to the law enforcers from which weapons they could have been fired from.
In addition, according to the IGP, the re-registration exercise may unearth situations whereby the weapons have been passed on to relatives or other unauthorized people following the death of the original licensees.
This could have taken place without the inheriting relatives knowing that this is against the law.
Several incidents have come to light in which unauthorized people have been found to possess firearms belonging to people who are deceased.
|
