Two forensic experts from Cellmark Forensic Services in the United Kingdom are in the country to assist the Seychelles Police in setting up a state-of-the-art DNA forensic laboratory.
The two engineers – Christopher Ford, operations development manager and Darran Bowden, project engineer of Cellmarks Forensic Services – on Friday met the Minister for Home Affairs, Mitcy Larue; Commissioner of Police, Reginald Elizabeth and Superintendent Jemmy Bouzin of the forensic department of the Seychelles Police Force, to present to them what their company has to offer in terms of services and equipment.
The meeting with the minister at her Independence House office in Victoria was to showcase the government’s total commitment to the project.
The experts’ work started back in June 2015 when they were sponsored by Interpol to come over and see how a DNA forensic lab could be set up in Seychelles. And during that period between then and now the Seychelles Police was trying to secure funding for the project. This has materialised through a grant from India.
The experts have been here on a nine-day visit and during that time they have been looking at the fine details of exactly how the laboratory needs to be like. They have also met contractors, sharing some knowledge with them on how to build it because there are certain standards that should be met with regard to DNA forensic laboratories.
“It is very important for the Seychelles Police to have a forensic DNA laboratory. Firstly our crime scene samples are being outsourced internationally and this creates a lot of difficulty and challenges to the force. And to have a full-fledged DNA forensic lab in Seychelles will bring great benefits for Seychelles such as getting a DNA result much quicker. And the difficulty in bringing in experts to check the evidence after the samples have been analysed outside the country will be solved,” said Commissioner Elizabeth.
He said firstly the police have determined the cost of the equipment and how and where they could secure funding. And this has come through from a grant accorded to the force by the government of India. As for the laboratory’s location, Mr Elizabeth said a site with an existing building on it has already been identified. And together with local contractors and the two engineers from Cellmark Forensic Services, the site has been approved and the design of the lab has been proposed. The Seychelles Police now has to arrange for the building’s design to be drawn based on the engineers’ proposals.
The next step, Mr Elizabeth said, is to train personnel to work there and this will be done at Cellmark Forensic Services in the UK. When back in Seychelles they will be supervised and mentored by personnel from Cellmark Forensic Services so they can achieve the necessary standard and qualification.
“This is in line with our strategy to provide quality and timely analysis of evidence. We also want to provide a quality of service that is internationally-recognised and hence the issues of ISO standards,” said Mr Bouzin.
The experts said the two main accreditation Seychelles expects from heir company are ISO 17025 which is a forensic laboratory testing standard and the ISO 9001 which is a quality standard to show the necessary procedures are in place and everything needed is fitted.
Cellmark Forensic Services employs about 550 people and has two main sites within the UK – one in Abingdon and one in Chorley. They have been operating for thirty years and been doing forensic laboratory service within the UK for not only the police but the military. They have also operated outside the UK in countries like Afghanistan, the United States, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates.
