 |
|
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
   |
Published
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
New regulations on
non-lethal weaponsBy the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Ministry of Public Security announced Tuesday new regulations on the rights to use and the process to seize of so-called nonlethal weapons. This is with the goal of "having better controls on the use and carrying of those arms," said the ministry. "These weapons are often used to commit illegal acts, which threaten the country's security," said the ministry in its statement. "With this new regulation, this type of non-lethal weapons, which are in the hands of people linked to criminality and organized crime, can be seized," said Eduardo Solano, vice minister of Public Security. According to the ministry, these weapons have a very similar design or are practically the same appearance as a real firearms, so victims do not have the ability to distinguish one from the other. Due to those issues, the regulations for carrying these weapons were modified by a presidential decree, said authorities. The most important changes are in the case of confiscation of these weapons, as follows: All so-called non-lethal weapons whose design and characteristics are the same or similar to a real firearm can be seized by officials when one of the following situations occur: - The owner or the person carrying the weapon has criminal or police records. - The owner or the person carrying the weapon is accompanied in the same vehicle with a person who has a criminal report. - The owner or the person carrying the weapon is under the influence of liquor or illicit drugs. - When the owner or the person carrying the weapon is inside bars and in public events with concentration of people. In the process of confiscation of the weapon, the police must deliver to the owner a copy of the confiscation certificate where must be informed of the place where the weapon will remain in custody. The weapon will be stored in the custody warehouses of the General Armament Directorate. In the event that the owner or the person who carried the weapon fails to prove that he or she is free of a criminal record, the weapon will be destroyed. One of the most recent seizures made by the police happened Saturday when the police found two non-lethal rifles during a road stop in the Canton of Upala in Alajuela Province. In that operation, the police arrested the driver of a vehicle for alleged drunk driving. The agents confiscated the weapons that the men were hiding in the cab of the car. According to statistics from the Department of Police Intelligence, 113 such weapons, have already been confiscated this year. During 2019, 668 so-called non-lethal weapons were seized. ------------------------------ Have you heard of the sale of so-called non-lethal weapons in your community? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com More stories
|
    |
|||||
   |
