THE Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), yesterday, reported that on November 9, 2013, a quantity of IT equipment, including computers and related equipment were discovered missing from a storage area at the Citizen Security Programme (CSP) office at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

Some of the equipment was earmarked for the New Forensic Laboratory. The Guyana Police Force is currently conducting investigations into the matter.
The MOHA has pumped $60M into the development of the construction and equipping of the Forensic Laboratory which is nearing completion.
The ministry stated that using the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) Process, the supplier, International Pharmaceutical Agency (Guy) Limited of Lot 22 ‘B’ Camp Street, Georgetown was awarded the contract to supply and deliver items to the Forensic Laboratory as follows:

Lot 1 – Small Apparatus and Glassware (150 items) in the sum of $39,616,509. These items include beakers, test tubes, pipettes and storage containers.

Lot 2 – Consumable and Chemicals (248 items) in the sum of $10,174,812. These items include chemicals, reagents, acids and solutions.

These items are needed to perform daily analysis, testing and sampling.

Additionally, the supplier Pressy Enterprise of Cowan and Parade Streets, Kingston, Georgetown was awarded the contract in the sum of $15,024,000 for the procurement of photographic and forensic equipment for the Guyana Police Force.
In September 2010 the sod was turned for the Forensic Laboratory which is located within the precincts of the University of Guyana, Dennis Street.

The lab comes after an agreement signed between the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as part of the institutional strengthening component of the Citizen Security Programme (CSP).
Over the years, the Force has been at a disadvantage in carrying out effective investigations as it relates to criminal matters, resulting in unsolved cases. However, the completion of this laboratory will significantly improve local forensic capabilities, thereby enhancing the security sector.
Government is cognisant of the need for more advanced technology to enhance the crime fighting capacity of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), hence several groundbreaking initiatives have been taken to ensure that the security sector is geared to capacity to deal with emerging challenges.

(By Michel Outridge)