…CSSP working to resolve electrical defects of system

By Svetlana Marshall
THE Government, through the Ministry of Public Security, is working tirelessly to address the electrical and air quality problems facing the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory in its quest to have the lab fully accredited by 2020.

The Forensic Lab, commissioned at a cost of $1.049B in July 2014, is intended to enhance the investigative capacity of the Guyana Police Force but it has been plagued with a number of problems including the poor electrical system. Under the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), more than US$723,000 has been injected into the lab to address its deficiencies.

In an interview on Guyana Chronicle’s online programme – Vantage Point, Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) Project Manager, Dr. Clement Henry, said the Forensic Lab’s electrical system is currently being overhauled. According to him, a multimillion-dollar contract was recently signed to complete the final phase of electrical system. The rehabilitative work was conducted in two phases. “We are hoping that by the end of the year, we would have all of the electrical issues solved and the air quality system up and running,” Dr. Henry told this newspaper.

The poor electrical system has affected the air quality within the lab, and it is the hope of Dr. Henry that, by addressing these deficiencies, the Forensic Science Laboratory would receive full accreditation by 2020. Through the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme, Dr. Henry has employed the services of a Jamaican Consultant to fast track the project. The Government is hoping to secure ISO certification for the lab.

Dr. Henry explained that the international accreditation will raise the level of confidence in the lab. “Accreditation will allow more people to want to do tests with the lab because you will have a high level of certainty about the accuracy of the results; and that is why we want to take the lab to full accreditation so that we would reduce any question about the findings,” he explained.

It was only this year, under the CSSP, that the Forensic Science Lab was equipped with critical pieces of equipment. Last June, the Government commissioned a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)) machine along with a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) machine.
The DNA machine, sourced from Italy, can run eight samples simultaneously and produce results within two hours, thus facilitating an improved investigation rate. Initially, the lab had four departments – toxicology, documents, trace evidence and chemistry, along with six non-analytical departments; security, quality systems, information systems, facilities operations, evidence and administration. However, two new departments – Forensic Video Evidence and the DNA testing – have been added.

“The laboratory is now a national pioneer for human identification using DNA testing and it enables us to conduct three main things; DNA testing for comparison or matching evidence to suspect; paternity testing and thirdly family mapping or testing where their DNA can be used to identify a suspect,” Director of Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, Delon France had explained during the commissioning of the DNA equipment. He explained that sample for the DNA procedures includes: – swabbing of the mouth, semen and vaginal sampling, hair, blood and touch DNA.

CSSP, an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded programme, aims, in part, to strengthen the capacity of the Guyana Police Force’s crime prevention and investigation capabilities. The programme has three components: improving community resilience in responding to crime; strengthening the capacity of the police force to detect and prevent crimes; and the rehabilitation and the reintegration of inmates into society by the Guyana Prison Service (GPS).