Nicholas Rainer
3 September 2008
Port Louis — «L'express» had the rare privilege of gaining access to the Very Important People Supporting Unit's headquarters. Five specialists from Staffordshire University are here on invitation of the PMO to train the police in forensic science.
All that's missing is the dead body. A gun lies partially hidden in a flowerbed. Shell casings, a condom, its wrapper and what looks like part of a number plate litter a field half the size of a football pitch. Scene Of Crime Officers (SOCO), police draftsmen and photographers, and officers of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) cordon off the perimeter in order to prevent it from being "contaminated". They then proceed to meticulously comb the area in search of evidence.
If this training exercise sounds like a scene out of the hit TV series, CSI, it's because 200 officers from various branches of the police are currently being schooled in the dazzlingly complex art of forensic science by five of Staffordshire University's finest. The team, which is led by Dr Graham Harrison, wants to help the police use forensic science rather than confessions to secure convictions. For their part, Dave Rogers and Hilton Middleton specialized in the preservation of crime scenes and the recovery of evidence, while Laura Walton is the DNA wonk. The team is rounded off by David Flatman-Fairs, a senior lecturer.
"We're trying to make them aware that they cannot enter a crime scene unless properly prepared," explains Laura Walton, by which she means that officers should be dressed in full forensic regalia, namely facemasks, crime scene suits, overshoes, gloves and hairnets. The evidence then needs to be collected and placed in sealed bags before being stored in a freezer, as room temperature "degrades DNA". Any tampering with the crime scene can result in the evidence being fatally flawed and thus useless in a court of law.
Insanely painstaking
DNA, or Deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic equivalent of the fingerprint. No two people share the same DNA sequence, which makes it extremely useful for identifying people and, in particular, those suspected of having been present at the scene of a crime. DNA can be lifted from bodily fluids, hair, skin and even, in extreme cases, from fingerprints. Around 70% of criminal convictions in the UK resort to DNA tests.
The task of identifying, recovering and, ultimately, having the DNA analyzed by a gene sequencer can be insanely painstaking. Patiently, the acting director of the FSL, Vidhu Madhub-Dassyne, dissects this "process flow". "The first step is to package the samples, identify the stains they contain and determine whether they are biological or not. The DNA is then extracted from the stain before being isolated and amplified. The final step consists of running it through a Rs6 million gene sequencer. Every step is conducted in a different lab. "
Soon after purchasing a state-of-the-art sequencer in May 2006, the FSL embarked on the mission of obtaining international accreditation for its operations. This highly sophisticated piece of equipment has been in use since January of last year. Vidhu Madhub-Dassayne points out that the FSL's prerogative extends beyond compiling reports about the evidence it has analyzed. Not only does the lab have to "be proactive by providing forensic evidence to the police," but it is also allowed to give opinions on the significance of the evidence in court. For this reason, officers of the FSL followed a specific expert witness training course.
As the evidence sometimes has to follow a convoluted path, the risk of something going awry along the way is relatively high. The work of all the involved parties thus has to dovetail. In particular, this means that every single link in the chain, from the first attending officer to the Police Medical Officers, needs to know how to avoid contaminating the evidence. "Contamination is the biggest enemy," adds the course coordinator, ACP Suthchidanund Lollbeeharry of the Central CID.
This course aims to completely change the way police work is conducted in Mauritius. "We're in the process of shifting from a confession-based to a forensic-based approach", affirms Vidhu Madhub-Dassayne. The reason behind this change is simple. "You can't deny the science," says Dr Graham Harrison. Increasingly, defense lawyers are trying to discredit the use of confessions by arguing, and sometimes rightly so, that they are obtained under duress. Hence the need for more scientifically and, by extension, legally irrefutable methods. The high accuracy of science also greatly reduces the chance of an innocent person being convicted for a crime he or she didn't commit.
Expensive tests
The head of the forensic science department of Staffordshire University is quick to add however that the success of a forensic-based case in court depends on "the integrity and continuity of the evidence. You have to be able to account for the evidence from the crime scene to court."
For DNA to become an effective weapon for tracking down criminals, the police will need to create a DNA database from which to compare samples recovered at crime scenes.
Dr Graham Harrison believes that a good place to start would be to take DNA samples from the inmates currently occupying the country's prisons. Despite the huge deterrent value of such a database and its usefulness for resolving cold cases, he admits that such an undertaking could throw up some "human rights issues".
The British government has had no such qualms. It launched its DNA database as early as April 1995. Since then, its criteria for placing someone on the database have become even more draconian. Until recently, only those convicted of a crime could be entered into the database. These days, however, just being arrested for a "recordable crime" is enough for the police to have someone's DNA listed, whether or not a conviction follows.
Dr Graham Harrison is happy to report a satisfaction rate approaching 90%. "The course has been very interesting, especially the DNA component," confirms a participant, Chief Inspector Tauckoory of the Police Training School.
For his part, Hilton Middleton lauds the "foresightedness" of the PMO for having organized such a course. He notes that the most recent inspection of the British police force revealed that police officers "are seriously lacking in forensic awareness". The challenge now will to be to implement what has been learnt and also to keep adequate stocks of the requisite equipment. "Money needs to be spent", observes Laura Middleton who explains that DNA tests, and especially those with low DNA, are very expensive. In extreme cases, one test can cost up to £5000. Putting a murderer or rapist behind bars, however, is priceless.
The gun in the training exercise was only a replica. The time will come when it's a real one and the police will have the chance to put their forensic knowledge to good use.
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