National Security Minister Stuart Young says he foresees increased fines and penalties for the public use of banned camouflage wear as well as police uniforms.
He made the comment during yesterday's sitting of Parliament as the issue of the recent kidnapping of University of the West Indies employee Maria Dass-Supersad came up. Two of the suspects who grabbed Dass-Supersad from the UWI St Augustine campus were said to have been dressed in a uniform marked "police" and a camouflage outfit.
Young reiterated it was a crime for citizens who are not members either the T&T Police Service of the Defence Force to use police or army uniforms. He said the situation was of serious concern to Government.
"We're engaged in discussions with the T&T Police Service and T&T Defence Force to ask them to put more measures in place to ensure that legitimate police and army uniforms aren't being used in the committal of these crimes. There have been a few instances where this has taken place," he said.
He said such persons who are detained are being prosecuted. He added that in a recent kidnapping, uniforms were loaned to alleged perpetrators and such people are before the courts.