CAMOUFLAGE, CRIME? …OR JUST FASHION STATEMENT?
CAMOUFLAGE, CRIME? …OR JUST FASHION STATEMENT?
Trinidad and Tobago’s decades-long debate over civilian camouflage clothing remains a legal grey area. While citizens face unpredictable arrests, enforcement balances on a fine line between anti-impersonation laws and strict import bans.
The Illusion of a Direct Ban
The following laws deal with wearing of military uniforms or any part thereof by civilians in this country:
Defence Force Act s. 219
“219. A person, other than a member of the Defence Force, who without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie on him)—
(a) wears the uniform or any portion of the uniforms of a member of the Defence Force; or
(b) wears … any article of clothing … so closely resembling the uniform or any portion thereof of a member of the Defence Force, …is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars and to imprisonment for eighteen months.”
Here the word camouflage is not mentioned. This section makes one liable to a fine of One Thousand Dollars or Eighteen months imprisonment.
The Summary Offences Act Section 98 (1) says:
“ A person not serving in the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force shall not wear… the uniform of any member of that Force, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of any such uniform.”
This section does not prevent, however, the wearing of military uniforms “in the course of a stage play ..in a place duly licensed ..public performance of stage..”
Breach of this particular section makes one liable to pay a fine of Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00TTD).
It is noteworthy the word ‘camouflage” is also not mentioned in this section either.
The “Sin Shorts Loophole”
Because the law targets impersonation rather than the pattern itself, there has been some push back against blanket arrests.
- Magisterial Precedent
Dale Marthis was charged with possession of a camouflage jacket and trousers in 2007, in contravention of Section 219 of the Defence Force Act. In 2010,
Magistrate Marcia Murray, as she then was, found that his possession of the camouflage items was not contrary to the Act.
- Ministerial Clarification
In 2024 the then Defence Minister Fitzgerald Hinds stated that an offence was only committed by someone wearing camouflage clothing that could be mistaken for that of a TTDF member.
According to the then Minister:
“So if she turned up in a real ‘sin shorts’ in the camouflage colour, and a white or a pink top, that does not exactly resemble the defence force.”
It therefore seems accepted that the Defence Force Act is not a blanket prohibition against the wearing of camouflaged apparel. It therefore follows that the wearing of camouflage female short pants, swimsuits or bandanas cannot mistake the wearer for a member of the TTDF, since these are not pieces of the TTDF uniform.
The Backdoor Enforcement
Legal Notice 33 of 1984 deemed the ‘camouflage pattern’ prohibited from importation unless for use by the TTDF. The Notice does not speak to the wearing of camouflage clothing.
The Customs Act Chapter 78:01 section 213 states that someone who “Knowingly harbours, keeps or conceals, or knowingly permits …..or causes or procures to be harboured, kept or concealed any prohibited…goods” is liable to a Fifty Thousand Dollar fine or value of the goods, whichever is greater, on summary conviction and on indictment to a term of Twenty Years imprisonment.
While this legislation also does not speak to the wearing of camouflage, it does make it illegal to “procure” or “harbour” any prohibited goods, and Legal Notice 33 of 1984 makes camouflage clothing a prohibited item under the Customs Act. This is therefore an indirect way that can be taken to charge persons for wearing items of camouflage without using the Defence Force Act or Summary Courts Act.
The case of The State v Isaiah Prince No CV2020-00732, has upheld that while wearing and importing are governed by separate laws, the restriction on the material itself is constitutional.
The Court stated that s. 219 of Defence Force Act and s. 98 of the Summary Courts Act “relate to the wearing of uniforms of members of the Defence Force as opposed to importation of camouflage pattern materials.”
However, it is possible for the police to charge someone wearing camouflage under section 219 of the Customs Act for “harbouring” the prohibited items.
A Pattern of Inconsistent Arrests
There have been several reports of arrests for items of camouflage within the last few years alone.
In 2024 a man pleaded guilty to possession of camouflage clothing and was placed on a bond by the Magistrate.
In 2020 another man similarly charged pleaded guilty and was charged a Five Hundred Dollar fine for wearing camouflage clothing in his home.
In 2020 a driver was pulled over by the police and charged with wearing camouflage apparel.
However, in February 2024 it was reported that hundreds of patrons attended the annual Army Fete in the Queens Park Savannah clad in “combat-fatigue-themed outfits”.
“While partygoers were observed wearing camouflage-print pants and tops, …no one was warned or arrested by police.”
Ultimately, the legality of your “camo” outfit appears to depend heavily on the context of your attire and the discretion of the officer on duty. Until the legislative overlap between fashion design and national security is explicitly cleared up, unfortunately civilians wearing camouflage do so at their own risk.
Submitted by: Nicholas Rampersadsingh PDII Senior
Public Defenders’ Department
Legal Aid and Advisory Authority,
23 Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain.
Contact: 638-5222
Email: pdd@laaa.gov.tt
Website: laaa.org.tt