Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds says the first time he saw a female security officer in this country with a gun he was "startled and worried".
Hinds, who had previously been a police officer before becoming an attorney and politician, made the statement as he piloted the Private Security Industry Bill 2019 in the Parliament on Friday.
"I recall first of all when I returned to Trinidad in 1994, because when I left here in 1987, I did not see too many females around the place doing security work but when I returned to Trinidad in 1994 I went to a drug store in Petit Bourg and I saw a lady in there with a firearm and it struck me, it worried me too at that time," Hinds said.
"Today I don't feel that worry because you see them all over taking their place and they do a great job even in the State's security apparatus, they have done very well in the police, the coast guard, the army they are pilots they do everything in armies and police organisations and prison services all over the world they are doing particularly well but at that time it startled me," he said.
Hinds said the Private Security Industry Bill 2019 is intended to protect women working in the security industry.
"It would be a great benefit to all of us as a society if they (women) were respected in the industry treated fairly and motivated so that they would not be afflicted or take away from their womanhood and their motherhood," Hinds said.
Hinds said he was told that CXC intends to design an examination along the lines of private security, which he said is "refreshing".
Opposition Member of Parliament Dr Roodal Moonilal said a top security official described the Bill to him as "harsh and oppressive".
Moonilal said there are approximately 10,000 security officers in T&T.
He said a section of the Bill requires random drug testing for all security officers annually.
Moonilal said the Bill was "contemplated by someone who was not right in the head" as that is not practical and said it would be more feasible to ensure that at least ten per cent of each security firm's workforce is tested.
Moonilal said there are private security firms purchasing high-tech military equipment on the international market and this should be of concern to the State.