The Scope and Implications of a Tracing Mechanism for Small Arms ...

54
2.3 WHAT FEATURES OF THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES AND TYPES ARE
SIGNIFICANT FOR A TRACING MECHANISM?
First of all, it should be recalled that the process of tracing can take
several different forms. According to ISO standard 8402, tracing is defined
as “the aptitude to uncover the history, usage or location of an entity by
means of registered identifying features”. This definition highlights the
importance of the notions of identification and registration in the context of
a trace, as depicted in Figure 3.
Figure 3: The different stages of the tracing process
Manufacture
Marking
Registration
Traceability
Forensic
Intelligence
Intelligence or forensic intelligence can be defined as “a method that
consists of the methodical search for and disclosure of links among elements
of criminal data on one hand, and on the other between criminal data and
other possible significant data, for the purposes of legal and police
applications”. 7 Analyzing the data then allows links to be established
between different cases, if similarities are identified, by supplying pertinent
information about the identification of a weapon and its association with a
criminal network, for example. But which elements should be included to
allow a firearm to be effectively traced and identified? We will examine the
different options available to us in the context of a PT (perfect tracing) and
a PGT (pretty good tracing).
It is therefore inadequate to tout the benefits of tracing all SALW;
tracing is not a solution in and of itself. Specific measures must be
established for each category of weapon, especially when we consider that