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Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis – June 28, 2018

 

For the period July 2^nd – 6^th 2018, the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), with funding under the 10^thEuropean Development Fund Project (EDF) and conducted by Arquebus – a UK based company specialising in ballistics intelligence,will deliver Double Casting training to local law enforcement ballistics specialists. Following successful completion, equipment will be donated to the St. Kitts and Nevis Police Department to strengthen the State’s capacity to scientifically investigate and prosecute gun crimes. 

 

Participants at the four-day practical training course will receive advanced training on double casting techniques, consistent with international standards. Double Casting is an internationally accepted, and Interpol approved, cloning technique used to replicate ballistic (bullets and cartridge cases) material through the creation of plastic copies.

 

Just as fingerprint data can link transnational criminal activities, so too can firearms ballistic data. Each firearm has a unique marking, similar to a fingerprint, that is left on a bullet or shell casing as it is fired, and which can be traced back to that firearm. The regional sharing of ballistic data will enable national authorities to trace and make links when investigating cross border gun crimes.

 

Using the double casting process, national authorities will be able to create and send replicas of the original ballistic evidenceacross borders in quick time to link gun crimes, while keeping the original evidence and maintaining chain of custody.

 

Thisassistant package fromCARICOM IMPACS to St. Kitts and Nevis forms part of the expansion of the CARICOM Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN)which allowsnational authorities in CARICOM Member States to share firearms ballistics intelligenceand find connections between separate crime scenes from and within different countries.The

IMPACS assistance package also includes continued post-training technical support from Arquebus to participants for the period of one year to ensure sustainability.

 

Three (3) more similar training courses in Double Casting will be delivered by CARICOM IMPACS to national authorities ofDominica, Haiti and Suriname during the month of July 2018.

 

With more than seventy percent (70%) of murders in the Region occurring through the use of illegal firearms, the training will enhance the proficiency and competencies of national authorities to more effectively detect and solve gun crimes.

 

CARICOM IMPACS is the coordinating and implementation arm of the Region’s multilateral crime and security management architecture, specifically designed to administer a collaborative and collective response to the crime and security priorities of Member States.