Nov 8, 2021 | Conventional Arms Programme
On 8 November 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Guyana, hosted an online National Tracing Workshop and Roundtable Meeting.
In the Caribbean, thousands of illicit firearms are seized annually. However, not all illicit firearms are traced to identify their last known legal owners. Ineffective procedures and the absence of serial numbers on firearms are factors that hinder the ability of States to trace firearms recovered. These challenges are by the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, which Guyana have adopted. In this sense, the National Tracing Workshop and Roundtable Meeting were developed to support the State’s efforts to trace firearms and implement the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
Nine national officials from the Guyana Police Force, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Defence Force, the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, and the Customs Department took part in the National Tracing Workshop and the Roundtable Meeting. Participants included operational police officers and analysts responsible for recovering illicit firearms, retrieving trace evidence, analyzing firearm crime data, tracing firearms and collating information on criminal groups. The Workshop included presentations from UNLIREC, Guyana, and the United Kingdom’s National Ballistics Intelligence Service.
The Tracing workshop preceded a Serial Number Restoration course which was undertaken during the same week for representatives of the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory and the Guyana Police Force to enhance the State’s capacity to successfully trace weapons. Both activities were carried out in line with the 2001 UN Porgramme of Action on Small Arms and Sustainable Development Goal 16.4, contributes towards the implementation of Goal 3 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, Bolster law enforcement capacity to combat illicit firearms and ammunition trafficking and their illicit possession and misuse, and ammunition, and ultimately reducing firearms-related crimes and armed violence in the Caribbean.
The Workshop and the Roundtable meeting were made possible thanks to the financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
Mar 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 18-29 March, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, commenced the second phase of firearm examiner training, which focuses on in-situ field visits, training on comparison microscopy for the examination of firearm and ammunition evidence, including bullets and cartridge cases.
UNLIREC’s current project on Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean Through Operational Forensic Ballistics, seeks to provide States with more in-depth forensic ballistic training. In 2018, the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) identified a human resource requirement to enhance the capacity of the current firearms technicians so that they may eventually become competent reporting officers, capable of signing off on forensic reports. Six technicians from the Royal Bahamas Police Force participated in this training. Topics covered included examination of fired ammunition components and comparative toolmark examinations.
During Phase 1 and 2 of the Operational Forensic Ballistic assistance package, Bahamas received support through, inter alia, training in forensic ballistic Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the development of an internal testing tool to prepare firearm examiners for proficiency testing, and firearms and ammunition evidence management. This current assistance is made possible thanks to the support of the government of the United States of America.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
May 16, 2018 | Uncategorized
From 16-17 May 2018, UNLIREC carried out its third sub-regional meeting for Caribbean States on forensic ballistics at its headquarters in Lima, Peru. The meeting built upon two previous regional encounters held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2016 and the Dominican Republic in 2017 where States highlighted the need for improved sharing of ballistics information at national and regional levels.
Over 35 State representatives, ballistic experts and international organizations were present, including INTERPOL and CARICOM IMPACS. The two-day meeting focused on leveraging ballistic data to combat gun crime and illicit firearms trafficking, improving coordination and ballistic information sharing among agencies as well as integrating quality controls and standard operating procedures in laboratories across the region. The event formed part of UNLIREC’s region-wide assistance package on operational forensic ballistics which is funded by the governments of Canada and the United States.
Eight Caribbean Member States, including Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, were represented at both the operational and policy levels. Participants highlighted current practices in, inter alia, firearms tracing as well as ballistic information sharing via the use of double casts and equipment previously provided by UNLIREC during project implementation. The need to improve the communication and coordination between forensic units and criminal investigative departments was underscored as a way to ensure that the forensic data and intelligence currently being generated is effectively utilized.
Representatives spoke on the progress made by their respective States since the inception of UNLIREC´s Assistance Package as well as on the resource challenges being faced by firearms examiners and forensic personnel in terms of human resource capacity; laboratory accreditation and quality management; and technology.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
Oct 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 23 – 27 October, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) delivered its pilot Shooting Incident Reconstruction training in the Caribbean, in Trinidad and Tobago.
Six participants, among them Firearm Examiners and Crime Scene Investigators of the Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre (TTFSC) and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) participated in the 5-day Training.
The Caribbean region continues to face persistent levels of armed violence, illicit trafficking of firearms and ammunition, and impunity in firearm related crimes. The increase of organized crime-related cases, sophisticated criminal networks and lack of trust in state institutions have made the general population less likely to come forward when witnessing firearms-related cases, thereby increasing the caseloads and responsibilities of firearms and tool mark examiners, crime scene officers and investigators. Strengthening countries’ forensic ballistic investigative capabilities is essential to advancing the rule of law and to decrease impunity in firearms related cases.
The shooting incident reconstruction course was designed for firearms and tool mark examiners, crime scene and other law enforcement personnel who are responsible for investigating or overseeing the investigation of shooting incidents. The course will assist national authorities to connect all the pieces of forensic evidence necessary for the reconstruction of shooting crime scenes, including: documenting physical evidence at shooting crime scenes; determining the flight path of projectiles; examining firearm discharge residue to estimate distance from the shooter to the victim/ and or final target.
The Pilot Exercise is subject to review, modification and correction by national authorities and by UNLIREC where necessary. Topics covered included health and safety in the forensic process, collecting and preserving evidence, diagraming the shooting scene, computer uses in shooting reconstruction, identifying bullet holes, determining bullet trajectory, exterior ballistics and bullet impacts and ricochet and sequence of fire, amongst others.
Equipment used in the training, resource material and reference targets with sample bullet holes were handed over to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
Oct 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 10 – 13 July, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), together with ARQUEBUS Solutions Ltd, delivered Double Cast training to five participants from Guyana in Georgetown.
The participants, among them firearm examiners from the Guyana Police Force and Scientific Officers from the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, participated in the 4-day Training, based on INTERPOL’s Double Casting methodology.
Double casting increases the ability of national authorities to make connections between crime and crime scenes, nationally, regionally and internationally. The training sought to build capacity in the region to create microscopic replicas of projectiles and cartridge cases that can be peer reviewed and uploaded to a Ballistics Identification Network or shared across jurisdictions for comparison without disturbing the chain of custody of the original evidence.
Equipment used in the training as well as consumables to conduct further, practical double casting of projectiles were handed over to the Government of Guyana.
Double Cast Training is part of UNLIREC’s Caribbean Operational Forensic Ballistics Assistance Package, which is made possible thanks to the support of the US Department of State and the Government of Canada. This training was the sixth and final double cast training delivered by UNLIREC. Four similar activities were delivered to national authorities in Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago as well as a sub-regional workshop to participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
