Pretoria: The South African Police Service (SAPS) is currently hosting the fourth Forensic Services Conference in Pretoria under the theme Fundamentals of Forensic Evidence.
The theme ties in with the Back to Basics approach which has been implemented by the Department of Police. In the forensic services context, Back to Basics means ensuring that the correct protocols are adhered to when processing crime scenes and analysing exhibit material both at crime scenes and within the forensic services laboratories, in line with the ISO 17020 and ISO 17025 Quality Management System.
The aim of the conference is to educate and enhance the skills of forensic examiners or analysts, academics, first responders to scenes of crime and detectives in the various fields of forensic services. This includes empowerment on the value chain and the maintenance of the chain of custody of forensic exhibits from the point of collection to the presentation of results/findings in a court of law. This conference also highlights the advancement of forensic methods and techniques used in the identification and detection of very small and trace quantities of exhibit materials.
The conference opened on Monday, 27 February 2017 and is a four-day event being attended by more than 620 persons comprising of:
• 513 delegates;
• 24 exhibitors of forensic products and services; and
• 83 speakers, with 16 international, 22 local and 45 SAPS speakers.
A total of 30 scientific posters, 101 papers and 17 workshops by international speakers are being presented in this four day period.
Some of the many best practices taken from this conference are:
• The collaboration of law enforcement with the forensic medical examiners/pathologists in investigating crimes which involve the deceased, including strengthening the relationship between key role players involved in the investigation of crime and the Criminal Justice System at large
• The identification of the need for the establishment of a forensic strategy which encompasses proactive and reactive interventions using forensic intelligence in all spheres of policing
• The identification of the benefits of a quality management system in line with international standards which will give confidence to our customers
• The collaboration of law enforcement with academia on forensic research and development in the country, including a contribution towards forensic curricula.
It is also noteworthy to mention that this Forensic Services Conference is but one of several initiatives being employed to improve the quality of forensic services in the country. The correct handling, securing and protection of evidence from contamination and manipulation is paramount in ensuring a quality forensic results.
Since the first conference, the Division Forensic Services has embarked on several initiatives to improve and align our services, processes, technology and techniques in line with the current advancement in forensic practices. We acquired the latest technology for crime scene processing and laboratory analysis, including the semi-automation of the analysis of buccal samples to support the implementation of the DNA Act. These measures assisted us in reducing our backlogs and improving turn-around times. A recent assessment facilitated by the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation indicates that forensic products are now positively impacting on the resolution of crime and court processes.
The number of case entries received at the laboratory for examination has more than doubled since the operational date of the DNA Act on 31 January 2015. The Forensic Science Laboratory has made commendable progress in the reduction of the backlog, sustaining it at less than 10% of cases on hand. Since the 2009/10 financial year, the forensic laboratories reduced the backlog from 59 023 to a commendable level of about 18 923 case entries.
Our government has demonstrated a firm commitment to reform the Criminal Justice System by introducing the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Acts which is commonly referred to as the DNA Act and Fingerprint Act. In 2010, the Fingerprint Act was passed into law. This piece of legislation empowers the police to take, store and keep fingerprints and photographic images. It is encouraging that the South African Police Service has fulfilled the abovementioned legislative aspirations and it can be reported that all milestones have been attained, with the exception of a fully automated access to the Home Affairs National Information System (HANIS).
The DNA Act also provides us with the required legal framework to ensure that forensic DNA examinations contribute to the successful and effective investigation of criminal casework. The Act formally establishes the National Forensic DNA Database which consists of a number of indices containing the forensic DNA profile derived from samples collected from different categories of persons and crime samples. The DNA Act makes provision for several safeguards and defining penalties to ensure that forensic exhibit material and samples are collected, stored and used only for purposes related to the detection of crime, the investigation of an offence or prosecution.
On 27 January 2015 the Forensic Oversight and Ethical Board was established by the Minister of Police. The Board monitors and ensure compliance to the Act and ethical conduct.
The following progress can be reported specifically to the implementation of the DNA Act:
• National training of authorized persons to take buccal samples is progressing well and to date almost 26 000 members have been trained. The main focus group of this training is directed towards our detectives.
• Taking of buccal samples for certain categories of persons, including the taking of buccal samples from sentenced persons;
• The National Forensic DNA Database was established with daily loading of forensic DNA profiles to the different indices. The current database has more than 710 000 forensic DNA profiles. This database is currently the largest on the continent of Africa and amongst the ten largest globally. 210 000 profiles in accordance to the requirements of the DNA Act have been expunged to date
• ISO9001:2015 Certification of Forensic Database Management.
The increase of quality forensic products coupled with good detective work has resulted in a significant increase in the number of cases where serial offenders have been successfully prosecuted.
The recent successful prosecution of a suspect in a cold case that occurred 18 years ago can be mentioned as one of many where forensic evidence assisted in resolving a crime. The suspect in the cold case was identified after performing a comparison search on the National DNA Database of South Africa.
The young female victim’s wait for justice came to an end when her rapist was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting her when she was a child. On 26 May 1998, the 10-year-old left her home in Alexandra in Gauteng with her brother’s girlfriend. The two went to Johannesburg Hospital to visit a sick child. On the way, the two stopped at the Mimosa Hotel in Hillbrow, where the aunt lived. A man was in the reception area and told them they were too young to be there. He offered to take the older girl upstairs to look for her aunt, leaving the young 10 year old alone downstairs. Some time later, the man returned alone, saying the older girl would meet them at the hospital and that the young girl should go with him. She was led by the hand to a nearby park, where the man violated the young victim and raped her. At the end of last year Mr David White was found guilty of kidnapping and raping the victim
Another example worth mentioning is the case where three suspects outside Grahamstown were arrested and linked to a countrywide poaching syndicate responsible for the slaughter of more than 90 rhinos. Since the arrest of the suspects in June last year there has not been a single incident of rhino poaching in South Africa reported to us involving darting. The suspects were found in possession of a rhino horn worth an estimated R1.2 million. These suspects have allegedly been involved in a highly organized syndicate which travels the country killing and dehorning rhinos. The dart gun confiscated during a raid has been linked through forensic ballistic examinations to several poaching incidents across the country in which darts and the lethal drug M99 were used.
Cases such as these demonstrate the power forensic evidence has in resolving crime
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