The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force has officially upgraded its investigative capabilities following the handover of advanced ballistics and forensic equipment from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the United States (US) Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

The official handover took place in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where Major the Honourable St. Clair Leacock, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Disaster Management and Immigration formally accepted a Bullet Catcher system and IBIS BRASSTRAX forensic equipment on behalf of his Government, to be used by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. The symbolic handover was held at the opening ceremony of a critical five-day regional Firearms Trafficking Workshop, which is being held from 8 – 12 June 2026.

The acquisition marks a shift away from reactive policing towards rapid, intelligence-led prosecutions across the Region. Delivering his address, Deputy Prime Minister Leacock stressed that small island States have long fought highly organised transnational syndicates with mismatched tools but noted that this acquisition fundamentally alters the security landscape.

"Today marks a pivotal, transformative leap forward in how we protect our borders, defend our communities and deliver justice. Through the enduring and unbreakable partnership between CARICOM IMPACS and the US INL, the rules of engagement are changing. This is not a symbolic gesture. These are hard, scientific capabilities", he stated.

This dual-system technology introduces digital speed and precision to local criminal investigations, allowing ballistics experts to safely fire recovered weapons into the Bullet Catcher system to capture pristine, undamaged test bullets and cartridge cases. These samples are then fed into the IBIS BRASSTRAX equipment, which acts as a digital fingerprint scanner by capturing high-resolution, three-dimensional imagery of the ballistic evidence. While cross-referencing or shipping physical samples overseas previously took weeks, this new infrastructure permanently stationed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines allows investigators to instantly match weapons used across different Caribbean territories.

"If a gun is used in a crime in a neighbouring territory and smuggled onto our shores, this equipment will help our investigators connect the dots almost instantly," Deputy Prime Minister Leacock explained.

Lt. Col. Michael Jones, Executive Director, CARICOM IMPACS, emphasised that placing this technology directly into the hands of Member States is central to the mission of the Agency.

"Standardising how we collect and share gun data directly empowers every participating territory. This unified approach ensures that a breakthrough in one island can instantly help solve a case or prevent a violent crime in another. As a Region, we are replacing isolated efforts with an airtight, collective defence", Col. Jones reiterated.

Expressing profound gratitude to CARICOM IMPACS and the US INL for answering the call for assistance with tangible resources, Deputy Prime Minister Leacock concluded his remarks with a direct mandate to the Commissioner and the officers of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

"Tools are only as effective as the hands that wield them. I urge you to utilise this equipment with the highest standards of professional integrity, to preserve the chain of custody flawlessly and to turn this data into real-world victories against gun violence. Let these tools become the nightmare of every illicit firearm trafficker operating in our waters," he urged.