INTERPOL iARMS User Training Course on Firearms Programme Policing Capabilities for Investigating Firearms/Environmental Crime for Malawi
On 26-30 October 2018, the INTERPOL Environmental Security in cooperation with Firearms Programme (iARMS Project) organized training course on Firearms Programme Policing Capabilities for Investigating Firearms and Environmental Crime for Malawi. The course included two training sessions which gathered a total of 40 participants representing officers from Malawi Police Service investigators, armorers and ballistic units. Participants were trained in their readiness to engage in transcontinental controlled deliveries involving source, transit and destination countries as well as in the efficient operation of the iARMS database. The training also aimed to increase the understanding of the use of INTERPOL Firearms Programme’s policing capabilities such as INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network (IBIN) and INTERPOL Firearms Reference Table (IFRT).
Funded by the European Union, the INTERPOL Illicit Arms Records and tracing Management System (iARMS) is a platform that facilitates information exchange and investigative cooperation between law enforcement agencies in relation to the international movement of illicit firearms. Countries are encouraged to upload records of lost and stolen firearms in iARMS. Consequently, in the case of a recovered firearm, the database is queried and the country can identify when and where the firearm was diverted into illegal possession.
Shall the query not generate a positive result, the user can send a request to the country of manufacture, country of last legal import (if marked on the firearm) and to any country that may be connected to the case.
