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

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traced, but which ones? Precisely which weapons are we talking about in
this context? Let us take a look at the problem we face when trying to
answer these questions.
We have stressed the dichotomous aspect of the weapons involved in
armed conflict and in crime. This distinction must form the basis of our
attempt to address the above questions—we must examine both
dimensions and adapt the tracing mechanism to each of them. Many have
so far been in favour of tracing all weapons, but such a policy would
encounter insurmountable obstacles. The decision to trace certain weapons
has been made on the basis of political considerations rather than objective
and technical criteria. Therefore, initially we must concentrate on the
weapons that must as a priority be subjected to tracing operations, and in
parallel develop methods that allow weapons that may present a problem
to be traced as well.
Another question surfaces when studying the issue of which weapons
must be traced: should the research carried out concern the source (i.e. the
number of weapons held, imported or exported in a given country), or
rather the activity (that is, relate to the crimes committed)? This point is
fundamental because the source and the activity refer to two completely
different groups of weapons. Considering that not all SALW can be traced
and that the idea is to provide statistical information for tracing operations,
this author feels that the primary area of interest should be weapons
involved in criminal activities.
Today, in the vast majority of cases, antique weapons are not included
in traces (we shall go into greater detail on this point in section 2.8).
Considering the problems raised by this type of situation, the idea of
identifying (meaning counting and recording) all the weapons in circulation
around the world or that each person possesses becomes interesting. The
example of Canada shows that since the new arms law (under which all
firearm owners must declare their weapons and have them registered,
whereas the old law applied only to firearms with restricted authorization)
came into effect on December 1, 1998, the number of requests for tracing
has increased and the situation concerning firearms, their possession and
their use has clearly become more transparent. Nevertheless, this type of
approach has its problems: tracing all the weapons implies implementing
special cells dedicated to these operations. As the number of cases to be
dealt with has steadily increased, a rapid response (a function of police