From 9 – 10 September 2020, UNLIREC carried out an Operational Forensic Ballistics Focal Point Meeting within the framework of its “Preventing and Solving Gun Crimes through Forensic Ballistics” project. Since 2015, UNLIREC has been providing technical assistance in forensic ballistics to various CARICOM Member States in an effort to ultimately combat illicit firearms trafficking and gun crimes.
This 2-day meeting allowed States to provide feedback on the assistance received from UNLIREC during the 2015-2020 period and highlighted ongoing challenges and areas requiring future intervention and assistance. UNLIREC was also able to follow up with States on recommendations provided during previous interinstitutional roundtables and facilitated discussions on regional and national coordination mechanisms for information sharing and ballistic intelligence.
Participants highlighted the continuous need for firearm examiner training and human resource capacity building, as well as technological advances in ballistics and new and emerging threats in the field of forensic firearm examination. A total of 15 State representatives attended along with representatives from CARICOM IMPACS. This Operational Forensic Ballistics technical assistance package is supported by the Government of the United States of America.