LAHORE, June 19: While the Punjab police have for the first time got convicted 28 criminals by submitting forensic evidence instead of obsolete confessional evidence to courts in the current year, a batch of 50 Punjab police officers (investigation officers) has been selected for a week-long training being imparted by a foreign agency.
The programme is being held at the Chuhng Police Training College from June 18. Each participant will also be given free-of-cost investigation kits (each costing US $1,500) comprising fingerprint and DNA lifting tools, torch, cutters, dress, caps, tapes and other equipment at the conclusion of the course.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which will provide the kits, is holding CSI workshop — first of its kind by any foreign agency in Punjab — for investigation officers in partnership with INTERPOL and the Chuhng Police Training College. It will conclude on June 25.
In the first phase, as many as 35 participants from Lahore and 15 from Gujrat from sub-inspector to deputy superintendent are taking part in the training. The training will have detailed lectures and demonstrations as to how a crime scene in heinous crimes could be best preserved for lifting forensic evidence.
The forensic and crime scene investigation processes with case studies will be taught on the first day. The second day will involve presentation by trainers of the roles of their respective agencies in crime scene investigation and forensic work; health and safety measures at crime scenes; audio-visual (DVD) presentation on crime scene investigation on the DNA era; introduction of the content of crime scene investigation material and kit; introduction to the types of physical evidence and their evidential value; presentation of forensic work and cases in use in country (local expert); and e-learning crime scene and physical evidence awareness.
Experts will focus on third day on various types of crime scenes; role and responsibilities of first responders at scene; preservation, initial documentation and control of crime scene; record and documentation of crime scenes; photography; e-learning responsibilities of first responders at the crime scene; and e-learning basic crime scene procedures and those consideration by responders.
The fourth and fifth day training will cover implementation of anti-contamination and personal health and safety measures, recognition and location of evidence, packaging of physical evidence, fingerprint analysis, fingerprints for comparison, demonstration of fingerprints collection, collection of ten-prints (practical) and detection, collection, packaging and storage of biological materials.
The sixth day will cover demonstrations on burglary, car crime, robbery, murder indoor and murder outdoor while the last day will focus on testifying in court proceedings and audio-visual (DVD) presentation “From crime scene to international DNA data exchange”.
Crime scene preservation and lifting of forensic evidence is one of the weakest areas of Pakistani police who are generally blamed for faulty investigations leading to poor conviction rates.
The 50 officers would also visit forensic science agency to learn finer points of fingerprint.
The police observers say there is an urgent need to switch over from having confessional statements of criminals to evidence-based investigation for getting them convicted by courts.
The Lahore police have sufficient stock of forensic kits and two forensic vehicles in addition to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency vehicles but rest of the province (with the exception of city districts) especially rural districts still don’t have forensic material.
Chuhng Police Training College Commandant Muhammad Faisal Rana says it is still not given due importance for the police to cover crime scene carefully as investigators due to lack of knowledge and training pollute crime scene and focus on confessional statements of the accused as evidence which is not acceptable to a court of law. He said courts also should be trained.
He said proper lifting of evidence from crime scene and its matching always got any suspect convicted by a court and it is high time the police improved its detention and conviction rates.
He said the course initiated by foreign agency would help improve investigation skills of police officers, adding some local courses regarding crime scene investigation were executed in the past.
Lahore SSP Investigation Abdul Razzaque Cheema told Dawn that the investigation police got 20 criminals of crime against property convicted by courts in first five months of 2012 and this was done first time in the police history.
He said frequent trainings and demonstrations were helping IOs for their capacity building, adding the investigation kits in small size would be provided to IOs by the UNODC for easy transportation.
He said only Lahore police had crime scene preservation tapes in all police stations.
He said 90 per cent of murder cases ended up on compromise and hence there’s no conviction and in property cases, it was less than 10pc.
(Daily Dawn)
********