Cops undergo forensic training at newly-established lab in UoK

DNA lab promises swifter processing of forensic evidence from crime scenes

KARACHI: The Sindh Forensic and DNA Laboratory (SFDL) organised a training session for police investigators on Wednesday, at the University of Karachi's International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences.

Thirty-one officers of the Sindh Police attended the programme that imparted training in handling forensic evidence from crime scenes.

The session included a talk by Dr Nouman Rasool, the SFDL's technical manager, who instructed the attendants on how to identify, handle, package and transport biological evidence from crime scenes. The talk was followed by a simulation, in which the participants collected and managed forensic evidence from a mock crime scene.  All participants were awarded with certificates at the end of the session.

SFDL Project Manager Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, cited the need for such programmes in view of the ever-growing importance of forensic science for law-enforcement agencies.

He also noted that the ability to process forensic evidence from field investigations was an essential skill that police officers should ideally possess in their repertoire. SFDL is the first of its kind facility in Sindh that specialises in the detection, identification and analysis of human DNA samples collected by law enforcement agencies from crime scenes. The SFDL is set up at the Jamil-ur-Rahman Centre for Genome Research, which works as part of the Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) at the University of Karachi.

Dr Ahmed noted that that with the establishment of the SFDL forensic samples collected by the police no longer need to be sent out of Sindh for analysis, expediting the overall process of crime resolution for citizens to receive swifter justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2019.