$1B forensic lab commissioned

Jul 15, 2014 News

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By Abena Rockcliffe
After several delays, Guyana’s first forensic laboratory was finally commissioned yesterday. This comes some three years after the contract was signed for the construction of the facility, located at Turkeyen.

The laboratory is a project under the Citizens’ Security Programme (CSP), initiated by the Government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This Programme has three elements: Institutional modernization of the Home Affairs Ministry, Community Action Component (CAC) and modernization of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which includes strengthening of its forensic capability.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Angela Johnson, who was the Chairperson of yesterday’s commissioning ceremony, said that the Lab is intended to enhance the investigative capacity of the crime fighting body in Guyana.
She told staffers of the entity, who were present at the ceremony, that they  must forever keep in mind that their mandate is to meet the demands of stakeholders who she pointed out to be police, prosecution, victims, suspects and citizens generally.
Programme Coordinator of the Citizens’ Security Programme, Anil Ramnath reminded that the objective is to enhance citizens’ security by contributing to the reduction of crime and violence.
He specified however, that the Programme targets areas of strengthening the capabilities of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Police Force as well as building safer communities. Ramnath highlighted that the new Lab will realise capacity building and also add to the modernization of the Ministry and the Police Force.
Ramnath disclosed that the facility consists of a main building which comprises two floors totaling 12,000 sq.ft. He said that the ground floor of the main building houses the administrative offices, library and research centre, conference room, security monitoring, evidence submission and wash rooms. The first floor has the accommodation to support the facility’s four departments namely; chemistry, toxicology, document and trace evidence. These four departments have six laboratories and an instrument room.
The Facility also consist of a single floor Service Building totaling 2,600 sq.ft which accommodates the main electrical panels and transformer, vehicle inspection booths, ballistics as well as chemical and general storage.
Ramnath disclosed that the total investment by the Government of Guyana towards the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory is $1,049,683,127.
He said that investments in these magnitudes are definitely aimed at perfecting results and are necessary for development.
Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee in his address acknowledged the contribution of the University of Guyana. He said that without the assistance of the University, “we would have probably still been looking for land.”
He said that the University didn’t walk away empty handed, as the Lab will be a training ground for young scientists. The Minister said a special section of the building has been allocated for this.
Rohee sought to assure those who gathered that the facility will not be a white elephant. He said the building is filled with state of the art equipment that will be used to solve crimes that have never been solved in the history of crime fighting in Guyana.
He said that forged documents, bio fluids, alcohol, and drugs will be examined.
Rohee disclosed that President Donald Ramotar has ordered that there soon will be a facility to test DNA. He said that the Ministry of Home Affairs will work assiduously to ensure that this happens.
He added that it will always confirm to international standards and will be a revenue stream for the Government of Guyana with various scientific tests being offered locally and soon internationally.
Rohee said that steps are being taken to establish relationships with international and regional forensic labs so that they can share experience, information and training.
He thanked the Guyana Police Force for its support towards the project and charged them to be equally supportive as clients, adding that he hopes for the Force to be the principle beneficiary.
Sophie McKinnon, Country Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank, said that appropriate and effective handling of evidence is crucial in the criminal justice system.
She said that the Lab is one of the main products of the Citizens’ Security Programme which aims to support the application of the rule of law and citizens security in Guyana.
McKinnon was pleased to say that this is the first forensic Lab in the Caribbean that the Bank has supported.
McKinnon noted that citizens’ security is a priority for the Bank.
She said that this is so because crime and violence slow economic growth and impedes social development. She said that the Bank is proud to be able to contribute to the process of modernizing crime prevention and law enforcement in Guyana.
The US$19 million citizens’ security programme is funded under an IDB loan and is for 40 years, with a 10-year grace period. Interest rates are one percent a year during the first decade and two percent a year thereafter.
The commissioning of the laboratory was scheduled to be completed 12 months after the contract was signed in April 2011; however, it was pushed back and delayed on several occasions.

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