DI urges FLA to tighten ammunition vault controls and data safeguards

The DI says that, where this has not already been completed, the Firearm Licensing Authority must move to correct accountability weaknesses linked to ammunition kept in its Main Vault. That position is based on the limited space in the vault, as well as the condition of security storage bags, which were said to be breaking down while their labels were becoming harder to read. Those issues may have played a part in the FLA being unable to properly account for several rounds when the DI carried out an inspection. The matter, the DI says, requires urgent corrective measures without delay.

Because of the sensitive and critical work carried out by the FLA, the DI also recommends that, if this has not yet been addressed, the agency ensure its servers are properly serviced and that a backup server is in place. Such a system would help prevent the loss of all stored information if the main server goes down. The recommendation follows reports that the FLA's server experienced a catastrophic failure, that the data on it could not be restored, and that no backup storage was available at the time.

The DI further says the FLA should put in place a uniform, written procedure for entering information into the LMS after a request is received from a Dealer. It says all requests from Dealers should be properly recorded and preserved to support transparency, accountability and auditing. Where relevant, the FLA should not place entries in the LMS unless there is written consent and/or a request from the Authorised Dealer concerned, together with documented approval from a properly authorised FLA officer. This recommendation arises from evidence that an FLA employee entered information in the LMS without a written request or consent from Mr. Kent Brown, based on Mr. Brown's account, in breach of established procedures and sound governance principles.

For the Ministry of National Security and Peace, the DI recommends a full independent audit of all FLA vaults to determine the total scale of missing ammunition and to confirm that every firearm listed in the records is accounted for. The recommendation follows the checking of only 17 per cent of the 4,103 entries in the Electronic Vault Management System, during which major irregularities were found, particularly ammunition that could not be accounted for. The DI states that, given Jamaica's present situation involving the use of firearms in violent crime, even one missing round of ammunition is too much. It therefore recommends that the audit be treated as urgent.