The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has commenced profiling all firearms in the country, with the exercise being done at CID Headquarters along Chinamano Avenue in Harare.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said in a statement that the recording of the profiles will be done free of charge. He said:
ZRP’s Criminal Investigations Department has put in place an initiative whereby firearm holders have weapons profiled by the department’s ballistics section before acquiring a firearms licence or renewing the already existing licence.
The new development by CID is aimed at profiling and accounting for all firearms in the country. The process started on January 2, 2019.
Firearm holders are to bring their firearms together with three live rounds for the process to the ballistics section which is situated at CID Headquarters along Chinamano Avenue in Harare and the process is being conducted free of charge.
Profiling of firearms will allow police to quickly identify the weapon used in any case under investigation.
Meanwhile, there has been a sharp rise in crimes committed using firearms, some of which have been stolen or have been acquired in dubious sales.