Inside The National Forensic Laboratory, a Game Changer for The DCI

Today, 13th June 2022, the President and Commander of the Armed Forces, Uhuru Kenyatta Launched the national forensic laboratory that will enhance Kenya’s capacity to modern investigative techniques

Criminals are always smart, rational and witty. They do not just commit a crime at that moment. Most of them plan in advance to escape the long arm of the law enforcement officers.

On the other hand, the huge gap that exists between the law and science, poses a huge challenge to investigators. However, below are some of the innovations that the government, through the national police service have made to ensure effective and efficient crime detection

Crime scene investigations unit. This is the core forensic unit within the DCI. This unit therefore carries out forensic crime scene investigations and interrogates the scene of crime scientifically. 

The new technology will enhance experts in the process of crime analysis and scientific examination of crime scenes. Evidently, exports will now be able to trace, package, and label recovered evidence in a bid to prove culpability of the suspect.

The advancement of the crime scene investigations unit gives experts an instrument in crime reconstruction. In this case, detectives will have the ability to unravel a series of events that surround the crime using deductive and inductive reasoning, competently tested scientific methods, event analysis, and physical evidence examination. 

Among other roles that experts within this unit will conduct include: vehicle identification, and serial number verification in vehicles and firearms. 

The forensic chemistry unit will play a critical role in carrying out analytical procedures in relation to interrogation of samples extracted at the crime scene by exploring their chemical compositions.

Similarly, the unit now has the ability and capacity to carry out toxicological analysis on blood samples, urine and blood gasses for traces of drugs or poison in one`s system.

Among other essential units that come with the world-class detective laboratory include:

• Forensic biology unit
• Forensic evidence management unit
• Forensic ballistic unit
• Forensic document examination unit
• Forensic bomb and hazardous material disposal unit
• Anti-terorisim police unit
• Cybercrime and digital forensics laboratory among other units.

According to president kenyatta, kenyans wait longer for justice and therefore, there is need to improve the quality of services kenyans expect from the kenya national police service through the Director of Criminal Investigations.