Checklist for detention monitors: International standards on the Storage and Stock Management of Firearms 1) Is there a dedicated, secure space – no matter how small for storing firearms? 2) Is there an up-to-date risk assessment, which has been produced and effectively implemented? Does it satisfactorily cover various risks, as identified by the UN Co-ordinating Action on Small Arms, including: • Any physical threat posed by the weapons to the local population; • The financial value of the facility and its contents; • Active hazards to the security of weapons and their frequency (e.g.loss, theft); • Damage or destruction due to sabotage or other forms of attack,; • Date and time of issue and return of weapon(s); • Make, model and serial number of weapon(s) removed and returned; and • Purpose of removal of weapon(s). • The number of rounds issued and returned with the weapon? 4) Are the stocks of firearms regularly checked, including whenever custody of keys is permanently transferred between an in-coming and outgoing key custodian? 5) Are suspected losses or theft of weapons immediately reported? Are independent investigations conducted, and a report compiled, which includes the: • Passive hazards and their frequency (e.g. natural disasters); • identity of the weapon, including its make, model, calibre, serial number, and country of manufacture or most recent import; • The attractiveness of a facility to an internal or external attack; • date, location and unit involved; • Vulnerability to espionage, theft or loss; • summary of circumstances of loss; • Vulnerability to sabotage or terrorist attack? • explanation of loss (e.g. negligence, theft, etc.); 3) Is there a register for the removal and return of firearms, which details: • disciplinary and/or criminal action taken; • recommendations to prevent a reoccurrence; • Name and signature of individual removing weapon(s); for confusion when loading rounds. Less lethal weapons and restraints. The UNODC /andUNOHCHR Resource Book (2017: 100, emphasis added) states that ‘control, storage and registration, and issuing of firearms and ammunition, but also of tasers, and rubber and plastic bullets, should be strictly regulated’. Building on this, it might be considered that the standards recommended for the storage of firearms—such as ensuring that the equipment is securely stored, only removed by authorised personnel as documented in a register, and that officials are accountable for the equipment and ammunition issued to them—could usefully apply to the storage of less-lethal weapons and restraints more broadly. In addition the following practices, whilst not the subject of international standards, could be considered to be good practice and to have a practical utility: • Firearms (and / or less lethal launchers) should be stored separately from ammunition, in case of unauthorised access to the armoury. • Firearms, training ammunition and less-lethal ammunition should be kept separate and clearly marked, given the potential 12 • In cases where one weapon can fire multiple kinds of ammunition, these should be kept separate from each other, and should be clearly marked. • Ammunition (whether lethal rounds, rubber bullets or tear gas) should be checked regularly in order to ensure it is still in date, and in order to allow sufficient time to replenish stocks in advance of expiry dates, should this be necessary. • Weapons should be checked regularly to ensure that they are functioning correctly and to assess whether they are within the manufacturer’s warranty (where appropriate), to help reduce risks associated with their use. • Monitors may wish to note whether the ammunition is made by the same company that has manufactured the weapon, as less-lethal weapons may be designed to be used only with specialist ammunition provided by the manufacturer. However, alternative suppliers may provide ammunition other than that recommended by the weapon manufacturer. This should be documented for, as the UK’s College of Policing (2017) have noted, ‘any change, or addition to any part of the system, can