Head of the Firearms Licensing Authority (FLA) Shane Dalling is opposed to legislating a deadline for firearm permits, as is being suggested by the joint select committee which is now reviewing the 2022 Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act.

Any such move, Dalling said, would be “unique”, given that there is no timeline set in other jurisdictions — including those where citizens have the right to bear arms — for gun permits, added to the fact that a firearm licence is not a right.

He said while he understands the anxiety of applicants to receive gun licences, the FLA cannot rush the process, as external investigations — which go as far as Interpol in some instances — take time.

Dalling, the authority’s chief executive officer, told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday that the FLA’s average turnaround time now for a decision is six months, with its internal process taking three months. He pointed out that this is an improvement over a wait period in previous times of years in some cases.

He was responding to recommendations made at Thursday’s meeting of the committee, that the agency be held to a timeline instead of a “reasonable time” to decide on permits. The suggestion that the Act should speak to a specific time frame originally came from the Licensed Firearms Holders Association of Jamaica.

The committee, after contemplating whether turnaround times should be handled administratively, agreed that a service standard framework should be developed for promulgation through the regulations, to include set timelines — which should be communicated to applicants — along with consequences for non-compliance with those standards.

Minister of Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said the details of accountability could be ironed out at a later point. “Given the concerns around efficiency [and] failure to communicate, a service standard framework should be developed and specified by way of regulations, and then published on the FLA’s website, and timelines should be set and communicated. Where there is failure to comply, then consequences should flow,” she said.

Government Senator Sherene Golding Campbell had argued that lengthy wait times provide opportunity for corruption in the process.

“A board of the authority ought to be concerned about the time frame in which applications are processed. Generally speaking, and in particular in relation to firearms, if you have this long, drawn out process there is just a lot of room for people to get involved in the system to move a man’s application, and it happens all over public entities,” Golding Campbell said.

But Dalling told the Observer that it is pressure to meet timelines that could pose a risk of corruption.

“Previous boards have been pressured to meet deadlines — not by individuals but by the system — to have massive turnarounds and were granting licences to persons before the clearances came in; and when the clearances came in, several of those were found to be persons of questionable character. It’s a firearm you’re talking about. Where else in the world is there any body setting timelines for persons to get gun licences and it’s not a right,” he argued.

Government Senator Charles Sinclair stressed that, just as timelines are stipulated in law for applicants to take certain actions, the FLA, too, must be made to adhere to a timeline to fulfil its obligations.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang also agreed that there has to be a timeline for decisions, but said he was in favour of an administrative process.

“Appeals were three years behind [and] individuals were appealing within 21 days and have to wait three to four years for an answer [and] some kind of time frame has to be given, with the possibility of extending,” he said, stressing that if a timeline is instituted administratively, there must be means to ensure that there is adherence.

“There has to be some reasonable assurance given to the applicant that they will get a response by a certain time,” he said.

Meanwhile, Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting put forward that if an applicant does not receive a response from the FLA within a reasonable time, then they should be able to appeal to the review board to investigate the status of the application, and make a ruling.

Dalling pointed out that the delays and lack of communication that plagued the system in the past have been rectified with the implementation of an online tracking service, which allows people to follow up their applications.

“Once you apply for a firearm licence, immediately you’re given a unique tracking number, and you [can] see exactly where your application is in the process. Not only that, every time there is a movement in application, the system automatically sends you an e-mail to tell you that our file has moved,” he explained.

Furthermore, the FLA is now facilitating people via a call centre, where they can inquire about their application, he said.

At the same time, he said the FLA is awaiting word from the finance ministry for approval of more funds to allow board members to meet more frequently to go through the more than 2,000 applications now before it for review.

He said the board currently meets from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Mondays to Wednesdays, but this is insufficient.

“We recognise that the period of time to cover the files is not sufficient. We have written to the Ministry of Finance from January seeking approval to pay the board members more for the entire week; we have not gotten a response,” Dalling stated.