Lock and load: Weapons Training instructors assist Crime officers in the use of sample automatic pistols and revolvers at Mount Butler Firing Range

An arsenal of different handguns are being tested to replace the .38 Colt Detective Special used by Crime officers.

The American manufacturer no longer makes parts for the snub-nosed Crime revolver and Support Wing is seeking officers' thoughts on a suitable replacement.

A troop of Crime and other officers attached to Special Duties Squads, tried over a dozen different models at Mount Butler Firing Range on June 20, and completed questionnaires on their performance for feedback.

Superintendent Field Alice Yeung Chui-mei said the session was the first in a series of trials to find a suitable replacement that would not require large amounts of training.

"With the trial, we want officers to consider the weapons' reliability, manoeuvrability, method of carriage, size, weight, concealability and power, and the maintenance and training it will require for safe use," she said, adding the new weapon chosen may be commissioned in two years.

"We want officers to try different styles and models and tell us whether they feel comfortable about using them, confident in their reliability and safety for both officers and the public, and consider whether they meet operational needs."

Addressing officers at the range, SP Weapons Training Albert Lee Yeung-chi said: "Automatic pistols require more training and more sophisticated maintenance. Carriage is also more complicated as the gun must be cocked after it is loaded. However, being lightweight with less recoil, they are easier to fire.

"Meanwhile, revolvers are robust, simple and reliable, albeit generally limited to six shots."

Mr Lee said CID officers required a reliable weapon that was easily carried and concealed, adding: "It must fire when an officer wants it to fire, and with sufficient stopping power."

Many of the guns tested are used by law enforcement agencies around the world, such as the Austrian-built Glock automatic being used by the Force's Small Boat Unit.





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