The police High Command has sought to assure that the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) machine will be fully up and running next week.

At the same time, the high command is stressing that the machine is not malfunctioning.

"There was a temporary halt in the usage of the system," Karl Angell, director of communication in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), told The Gleaner yesterday.

He said the matter, which had handicapped the process, has, however, been resolved and the inputting of data will restart next week.

He said notwithstanding the policy hitch, ballistic review of weapons is still being undertaken.

This means the system is still able to check weapons suspected of being involved in questionable shootings.

Expired licence

However, The Gleaner understands that the failure of the ballistic machine to operate at its optimum occurred because the interim licence that accompanied the new equipment had expired.

The Gleaner was told that the licence was not renewed because of a misunderstanding.

Since then, the ministry and police high command have hammered out an arrangement leading to the approval of payment for the new licence.

The previous administration in 1995 signed a US$1.93-million (J$121-million) contract to acquire an IBIS.

The new ballistic apparatus, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation currently uses in the United States, can link bullets and spent shells recovered from crime scenes with crimes committed in other places.

The IBIS replaced the defective Drugfire ballistic testing system the JCF used.