And we also asked the commissioner about another very credible report of another gun license issued to someone facing a criminal charge. The person is from San Pedro and was issued a gun license whilst charged with firearm related offenses. The license - our reports say - has since been taken away. But at the time the licence was issued he was before the magistrate's court.
So how did that one escape the vetting process? We asked the Commissioner today - and included the name of the person he allegedly signed the gun license for - which we have edited out of the story.
The Commissioner didn't deny it - he just said mistakes happen and they are corrected:
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, we have a reliable report that a man form San Pedro was issued a gun license while charged with firearm related offenses, the license has since been taken away but at the time the license was issued he was before the magistrate court which means a proper vetting would have and should have shown that, can you comment on him?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Like I said Cherisse there are going to be occasions where it doesn't matter how tight you have a system, there are going to be instances where they will be slip ups, things will pass through the cracks, the question is what is done, when the mishaps are uncovered and like you rightly said, it was found out and it was revoked, what's the issue."
We note that this is now another proven stance of a major breakdown in the vetting process - most likely due to corruption at the lower ranks. We'll keep following the story.
