– Dr. Luncheon
THE Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) is the latest of a series of national developmental projects brought into fruition after significant investments and a strong political resolve by the Administration to enhance the country’s capacity to better address issues of security and crime fighting.The $1.049B edifice is the first of its kind in Guyana. It was constructed under the Citizen Security Programme (CSP) which resulted from a loan agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In terms of equipment, the forensic capabilities of this new facility can rival that of any other modern laboratory in the Region and further afield.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on July 14, Secretary to the Defence Board and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon spoke of the unprecedented level of physical, social and economic transformation by the PPP/C Administration, particularly during that 2006-2011 period. This laboratory is only the latest of the series of developmental projects undertaken over the past 10 years.
The HPS said this facility, which has been long in the making, heralds further evidence of national development and that, “it is really an index of our perseverance and consistency that we sowed the seed in 2006 – 2011, and here today, we are welcoming the growth of that seed…this national institution will flower and bear fruits that will be a testimony of all of the inputs that has been made by so many.”
He explained that the lab forms part of a bigger picture, which is the development of science and technology in Guyana. This facility along with the One Laptop Per Family project, the E-Governance project, and the resuscitation of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) all attest to the specific recognition to the science and technology and its contribution to national development.
He also spoke of the impacts of criminal activities to the national development and said that recognition that prosecutions and investigations at the national level would be promoted was a driver in the previous PPP/C Administration in bringing this project into being.
The Guyana Police Force has elements of a forensic laboratory, which it inherited in 1987; however, that facility does not have the capacity to adequately meet the needs of the country, which is why the Force had to rely heavily on sending samples overseas to be tested.
The lab will allow for a high level of confidentiality, credibility and integrity among law enforcement agencies and the public, and will contribute significantly to the sector’s overall capacity in terms of addressing crime scene findings; thereby leading to more cases being solved and more prosecutions.
