UNLIREC provided training to Costa Rican officials using its Specialized Course on Evidence Management of Small Arms and Ammunition, in cooperation with the Judicial Investigation Body of Costa Rica, from 25 to 27 March 2015, in San José.
The course is part of the regional project “Preventing Gun Violence in Central America through combatting the illicit trade in small arms”, which is funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Twenty-eight officials from different law enforcement institutions, including eleven female officers, received training on techniques to guarantee the integrity of small arms and ammunition evidence in legal proceedings and intelligence investigations. The course covered topics such as identification of firearms and ammunition, intelligence and investigation tools, national firearms legislation, crime scene management and chain of custody procedures, as well as illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition.
The training culminated in a practical exercise and included participants from national institutions, including the Judicial Investigation Body (OIJ), the General Directorate of Armament, the Office of the Prosecutor and different police units, as well as observers from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Mexican Institute for Criminal Investigations and the Central American Integration System´s CASAC project.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org). Please direct all of your questions or queries to: Ms. Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer ( cowl[at]unlirec.org ).