Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting said the recently opened Montego Bay branch of the Firearms Licensing Authority (FLA) has been a tremendous success.

"We opened it in November and by December, fully 25 per cent of the total renewals were done at that office," he revealed. "What this has allowed is that it has reduced the processing time in Kingston, because it has taken off 25 per cent of the load."

The minister, who was speaking at a recent press briefing held at the ministry's New Kingston offices, said the regional office has been such a success that he is now considering opening an additional branch in Mandeville, Manchester.

He said this is in an effort to ensure that the "same facility that the people of northwest Jamaica are getting now, the people of central Jamaica will get".

He further informed that the ministry is working on introducing a high-security identification card system, as well as accelerating the application and recertification process, all in an effort to improve efficiency and security.