Contract signed for building of Gy$450M forensic lab

Courtney Benn Construction has been awarded a Gy$450 million contract to construct Guyana’s first forensic laboratory.

The contract documents were handed over at a signing ceremony at the Home Affairs Ministry on April 08th. The facility is to be housed in the compound of the University of Guyana, thus being independent from influence of the Guyana Police Force in maintaining its integrity, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said.

The construction of the lab, the proposed installation of CCTV cameras around the city, the establishment of a National Intelligence Agency, the Integrated Crime Information System linking police stations to information, are all part of a major modernisation project to upgrade the work of the Guyana Police Force and tackle crime, Rohee outlined.

This modernisation project was signed between the Guyana government and the Inter-American Development Bank in 2007 under the Citizen Security System.

Country Manager of the Inter-American Development Bank, Marco Nicola, said the building of the forensic lab is a key indicator of development and is a key aspect of a development project for this period. He commended the government for moving to prevent and prosecute criminal activities in the country.

Police Commissioner Henry Greene noted that crime-fighting was not merely combative, but also entailed evidence being found, and this would include the use of scientific methods. He further stated that the lab is critical to the work of the GPF, as it would be able to explore areas of Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA – a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms, and which can aid in the solving of murders with any kind of evidence found.

The GPF established its own lab in 1987 that dealt with blood, fibre, and other processing, but overseas labs are contracted for DNA and other findings. The laboratory is expected to be completed in 12 months; and, according to Rohee, it is a flagship project in the security sector, which signals development in a sector with many responsibilities.

The lab comes in response to a great need, and to address the complex nature of criminal activities that pose multifaceted challenges to the GPF. Rohee pointed out that criminal activities over time have been changing and moving with the technological times; and although tested methods are used by the GPF, there is need for “cutting edge technology,” to deal with this growing phenomenon.

Rohee said that, with this facility, it is hoped that confidence in the police force will be enhanced, especially now that forensic evidence will be delivered by the laboratory. Credibility, objectivity, and mutual trust are just a few of the points raised by the minister that will have to be fostered for the facility to work beneficially in the national interest and those having faith in it, he said.

The facility will be staffed with trained personnel from the University of Guyana and those from the present police laboratory. The minister said it is hoped that University graduates are attracted to a career in forensics and join the fight against crime. It is hoped that, in the future, the facility will be connected to islands in the Caribbean, so that there can be cooperation and a unified front in fighting crime.