Seeking to reduce the use of deadly force, the government is moving to legally allow members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to use “less-lethal weapons,” including pepper spray and tasers.
The Police (Amendment) Bill, which is in the name of Minister of Home Affairs Robeson, was read for the first time in the National Assembly last Thursday.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum for the bill, Section 2 of the Police Act would be amended by the insertion of definitions for the terms “arms” and “less-lethal weapons.”
“The purpose of this amendment is to expressly provide by the type of less lethal weapons that may be issued to the Police Force for use in the discharge of their functions under the Act. The use of these arms facilitate less lethal confrontational measures by law enforcement in an effort to reduce fatalities,” it explains.
It provides that less-lethal weapons is defined to include (a) nightsticks, batons and clubs; (b) chemical irritants, including a pepper spray and tear gas; (c) conducted electrical weapons, including a taser or stun gun; (d) kinetic impact projectiles, including rubber bullets; or (e) a water cannon.
Calls have been made for years for members of the GPF to be outfitted with “less-lethal weapons,” owing to numerous fatal encounters with suspects.
