The Forensic and Judicial Expertise Center of the General Police Inspectorate (GPI) has received eight mobile laboratories equipped with modern forensic investigation kits. The mobile labs were procured with the support of the U.S. Government, within “Support to Police Reform in Moldova” project, implemented by the United National Development Programme (UNDP).

The donation includes three mobile labs, containing forensic kits and other instruments for investigation of crime scenes, including identification and collection of crime scene evidence. These specialized vehicles will be used by the Forensic and Judicial Expertise Center, located in Chisinau, and its territorial units in Balti and Cahul, for the investigation of serious or high profile crimes.

Five other forensic vehicles with a smaller number of kits for investigation of ordinary crimes are donated to the police inspectorates in the Chisinau municipality (Riscani district), Balti municipality, and local police inspectorates in Drochia, Hincesti, and Orhei.   

“Throughout the last three years, the Police of the Republic of Moldova has been going through a reform and modernization of professional capacities. Thanks to our development partners, we can benefit from modern and innovative equipment, which will help us be quicker and more accurate in determining the circumstances of crimes by collecting crime scene evidence of different kinds, and subsequently, solving cases under investigation. It is an important step towards strengthening the investigative capacities of the Police and aligning them to the international standards”, mentioned Alexandru Jizdan, Minister of Internal Affairs.

The forensic specialists demonstrated their newly acquired technical capacities to identify and collect crime scene evidence, such as biological traces, fingerprints, transportation traces, DNA, footprints, etc.

“Our Embassy has actively assisted the Forensic Unit since 2006, but the focus has narrowed in the last two years. Our assistance is designed to help the police and prosecutors move from confession-based criminal justice to a system that relies on scientific analysis of evidence for convictions.  Therefore, the U.S. Government is funding this project to assist Moldovan forensic institutions with developing forensic capacities and preparation for eventual international ISO accreditation. We are confident that the equipment here today, and the accompanying training we are providing, will bolster the capacities of the Police Forensic Lab and more importantly improve justice overall in Moldova”, declared James Pettit, U.S. Ambassador to Chisinau.

At the same time, the Forensic Center has been provided with a portable cyanoacrylate fuming system to develop latent prints and investigate large objects at crime scenes, thus eliminating the need for dismantling and transporting items back to the laboratory.

“Good governance, rule of law and peace and security are at the heart and at the centre of the new Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, which came into force just few months ago in January this year. The role of Police in delivering on this agenda is instrumental and indispensable. Police should be responsive to the expectations and aspirations of citizens and communities and as a duty bearer should be accountable to the rights holders by protecting their rights and promptly responding to crime”, said the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Dafina Gercheva.

The U.S. Government also supported renovation and provision of modern equipment for two multifunctional conference rooms at the Forensic and Judicial Expertise Center Headquarters. The rooms will host conferences, training sessions and other types of events. In the framework of the same project, the Forensic Centre was also provided with specialized equipment for the Bomb Squad.

The total value of donated items amounts to over 720,000 USD.