Bridgetown: There is no need to issue arms to police officer in Barbados while they are off duty.
This is the view of Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, responding to a question from the media about the fears expressed by some lawmen that criminals were becoming brazen enough to challenge them while they are off duty and unarmed.
The top cop says threats and potential threats were taken seriously by the force. He provided details of a recent incident where he insisted that an officer be given protection when off duty because of a situation their intelligence had unearthed.
According to Dottin, the senior officers of the force had met recently and held discussion on the issuance of firearms to off duty officers, not in response to specific threats, but to ensure that all of the procedures were in place.
“At the moment we deal with this issue on a case by case basis when it comes to the matter of service weapons” Dottin said.
