Former commissioner of police Gary Griffith says the Police Service (TTPS) has the equipment to scan vehicles and containers.
In a recent statement on his social media page, Griffith said that during his tenure, the TTPS acquired vehicles that could do scanning, which were used at road blocks to assist the TTPS in seizing illegal firearms.
These vehicles, he said, could be immediately deployed to the ports to scan containers for illegal weapons.
However, Griffith claims that the current acting police commissioner, McDonald Jacob, has an aversion to technology and these scanning vehicles are now shelved, after Jacob described them as one of Gary Griffith’s toys.
Griffith argued that Jacob poses a “clear and present danger” to national security and was unsuitable to lead the TTPS.
“Firstly, he said that the vehicles acquired during my tenure to scan containers and vehicles are not suitable for ports. So his first response is a blatant and absolute lie and immediately sets the tone for the nonsense that follows. The truth is the vehicles in question are today at work at almost 150 ports worldwide in 57 countries,” Griffith said.
Jacob recently told the media that the vehicles could not be used at the ports as an expert determined that it was not in a position to scan whole containers but smaller items like barrels. He said there was no significant success in scanning vehicles during a period of use. He added that there was a high cost and health and safety issues.
Griffith said no one brought any health concern to his attention during his tenure. He said countries including the United States of America, South Africa, United Kingdom, France, United Arab Emirates and Mexico use them without a health complaint or concern, adding that the technology, Back Scatter X-ray, has less radiation than traditional X-rays.
According to Griffith: “The roving scanners can not only help at the ports, but they would be an invaluable tool in the fight to seize the numerous illegal firearms that are already on the streets.”
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