INTERPOL National iARMS User Training Course for Ghana
On 25-26 September 2018, INTERPOL organized a National iARMS User Training Course for Ghana. Thirty Two (32) officials representing Ghana Police Service, National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons and National Security Services attended this training course. The objectives of this course was to train law enforcement officers on the use of the iARMS database and to promote the use and benefits of INTERPOL Firearms Programme Policing Capabilities (iARMS, IFRT and IBIN) in the fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The training was aimed at encouraging Ghana to start uploading all lost and stolen firearms records into iARMS as well as to trace all recovered firearms. Ghana was a pilot country for iARMS database development and this was an opportunity to find out challenges being faced and to restart the uploading process by reaching out to many law enforcement officers.
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.
