Young hopeful new ballistics centre, trained police can tackle gun crime

National Security Minister Stuart Young is optimistic that the new police ballistic recovery department and the graduation of 21 specially trained officers will go a long way towards improving the conviction rate, as well as reducing the time to process and submit evidence.

He gave the feature address at a joint ceremony to mark the graduation of the officers and the commissioning of the department at the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU), Camp Cumuto, on Friday.

He said the opening of the department was an important occasion in the fight against crime and reminded the officers that they had a serious responsibility now that they were equipped with the technical knowledge to thoroughly investigate gun crimes.

"I want to plead with you (officers): the people of TT have taken the resources and invested it in each and every one of you all today.

"The job that you are now called upon to perform is going to be key and critical in the fight against the scourge of illegal firearms, the fight against illegal gangs and, most importantly, providing the Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts with the necessary evidence.

"This is a warning to all of the criminals out there who like to walk around and use their illegal guns. Today is a red-letter day in the fight against crime."

Young said he was also hopeful the newly trained officers would ease the strain on staff at the ballistics department of the Forensic Science Centre, St James, now that they had some competence in examining shell casings and DNA samples.

Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) McDonald Jacob said the opening of the ballistics department was a watershed moment in local law enforcement, as it gave officers the necessary tools to go after criminals and secure convictions.

Jacob said guns continue to be the weapon of choice for criminals, noting that last year there were 496 reports of shootings and woundings, and 80 per cent of the 396 murders were gun-related.

"This ballistics recovery department. coupled with the additionally trained ballistics experts. will assist in the ballistics analysis (that) can provide evidence in the solving of several crimes.

"The training of these graduands, which was a combined effort of the police academy and the Forensic Science Centre, will assist tremendously in dealing with the ballistics backlog at the Forensic Science Centre and to deal with incoming ballistics very quickly."

Also at the ceremony was director of the Forensic Science Centre Derrick Sankar who commended Young, Jacob and Police Commissioner Gary Griffith for their efforts in starting the training programme and opening the centre.

Senior advisor for the UN Regional Centre for Peace Disarmament and Development in Latin America and Caribbean (UNLIREC) Jason Francis also commended the stakeholders for their collaboration, noting his organisation's efforts to fighting gun-trafficking in the region.

Francis said previous ballistics techniques. where guns were fired into a box filled with cotton or sand. were unreliable and dangerous to investigators. and was hopeful the apparatus at the new centre would improve the quality of evidence.