KARACHI: Experts on Wednesday shared that there was an acute shortage of forensic laboratories in the country and that critical evidence at crime scenes was lost in most cases as personnel of law enforcement agencies were neither trained nor provided with latest equipment to properly collect evidence.

They were speaking at a two-day workshop — From Crime Scene to Trial: Mastering Forensic Investigation — organised by the department of forensic medicine and toxicology of the Dow International Medical College (DIMC), Ojha campus.

Highlighting the importance of forensics in the timely investigation of cases, Advocate Dr Rana Khan said that there were only five forensic labs in the country with few relevant experts in the field.

“We need to organise training for forensic investigation experts, crime investigation teams as well as design relevant curriculum. The forensic labs should have facilities for audio-visual analysis, digital forensics, crime/death scene investigation, fingerprints’ analysis and forensic photography,” she said.

Experts lament how crucial pieces of evidence are often lost at crime scenes due to inadequate training of investigators or absence of latest equipment

Currently conventional methods were largely being used for collection of evidence at crime scenes, resulting in loss of evidence, she added.

She highlighted the provisions related to forensic investigation in the Criminal Procedure Code 1898, Qanun-i-Shahadat Order 1984 and Police Rules 1934.

Prof Ramlah Naz, the head of the DIMC’s department of forensic medicine and toxicology, shed light on the ways to find out the victim’s identity and referred to the forensic research carried into the physical identity of famous international and national personalities who died in plane crashes.

She also talked about the high-profile Dua Zehra and the Zainab murder cases and discussed which methods were used to collect evidence.

She suggested collection of DNA and fingerprint data of jail inmates that could help reduce crime rate as offenders had high vulnerability to commit the crime again.

According to her, when a forensic swab is collected and sealed in a plastic bag, it gets destroyed. “To make sure that the DNA sample is preserved for years, it is important that the swab is dried and then preserved.”

Forensic consultant Afzal Hussain shared in-depth information about forensic investigation and evidence collection.

He explained techniques to identify, collect, and preserve evidence at the crime scene and discussed crime scene cordoning and photography.

“In Pakistan, poor crime scene photography, often carried out through mobile phones, hampers investigation. To address this issue, it is essential to use the latest cameras that allow a close and detailed look into the captured images,” he said, adding that forensic specimens must be sealed with tamper-evident tape to prevent theft.

According to Mr Hussain, fingerprints are the most important evidence in forensic research because the DNA of twins is not so different, but the fingerprints of identical twins are different. Hence, they are the key to chasing any criminal, he added.

The workshop was attended by a large number of lawyers, police officers, medico-legal officers and faculty members of forensic medicine who were presented shields and certificates by Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Jahan Ara Hasan.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024