THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday deemed misleading a Kaieteur News article published on March 11, 2014 under the caption “Transferred police crime lab boss holds on to critical forensic exhibits”.

The GPF has said that, from the outset, the thrust of the article is apparently intended to create mischief, and the GPF categorically refutes allegations stated in the article that Superintendent Greaves had been requested to prepare a “specific” report on ballistics tests carried out on weapons used during the Linden riots, which had led to the deaths of three persons. The Force says this report is totally untrue.

The policy of the GPF is for analysts at the Forensic Laboratory to have full autonomy over the analyses they conduct, and therefore they are allowed to operate independently regarding the analyses and preparation of the reports, a GPF release has said, as it noted that in all cases when ranks of the GPF seize exhibits in the execution of their duties, they tender those exhibits as evidence in the courts without any problem, even though the exhibits would have been lodged with a supervisor at a police station.

The report said further that when Superintendent Greaves took over control of the Forensic Laboratory from his predecessor, he would have taken over a number of exhibits relating to court matters, and the GPF has never had any issues in terms of those exhibits being admitted into evidence in the courts.

(By Michel Outridge)