- More than 1,000 detectives have received various forensic investigations disciplines.
- The group focused on Crime Scene Investigations, which form the foundation upon which every successful investigation is built
Kenya is now marketing its National Forensic Laboratory to regional countries for use.
This is after the facility was Monday commissioned and officials revealed more than 1,000 detectives in various fields have been trained and deployed there for use.
President Uhuru Kenyatta who presided over the event was taken through the facility from the first floor to the fourth floor and shown how the ten departments work.
He was informed apart from South Africa, the laboratory is one of its kind in the region and will come in handy for many countries.
The commissioning of the facility at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations was termed historic and a major milestone in the fight against crime in the country and regionally.
Director-General DCI, George Kinoti said the experts will now be available for use in any part of the country and region at large.
“Any country is now ready to seek help here. We have experts who can fly to any part of the world to investigate and pick evidence for analysis and use,” he said.
He added the facility will be open for use by any country.
So far, more than 1,000 detectives have received various forensic investigations disciplines.
The group focused on Crime Scene Investigations, which form the foundation upon which every successful investigation is built.
This, Kinoti said, has led to improved service delivery as the efficiency and effectiveness of our officers in forensic investigations, especially in crime scene reconstruction and evidence management has led to the successful resolution of many crime puzzles.
Kinoti said the completion and opening of the new laboratory will be a game-changer in the fight against crime, which, he said, had taken a new trend in terms of technology and sophistication.
“The laboratory will help us to back up what we have been doing with scientific proof. The success rate in the prosecution of cases will go up,” Kinoti said.
The government and other development partners have also equipped detectives with the contemporary tools and equipment required in modern-day investigations.
The service has been relying on foreign laboratories to conduct tests for evidence on issues under probe.
For instance, toxicological tests are at times done either in South Africa or in Europe.
But Kinoti said that and other tests can now be conducted at the laboratory.
At the laboratory, there are different sections, including fingerprints, ballistics, cybercrime, document examination, economic crimes, toxicology, computer forensics, mobile device forensics, malware analysis, computer incidents response team, network forensics, research and training and biological and chemistry sections.
There will be Digital Forensic Laboratory, whose overall function will be to identify, seize, acquire and analyse all electronic devices related to all cyber-enabled offences reported.
This is to collect digital evidence that will be presented in a court of law for prosecution.
The DFL is divided into subunits, each outlining specific roles and responsibilities of the Digital Forensics Analysts.