Photo By Sgt. Kandi Huggins | A forensics labratory technician for the criminal evidence unit, who specializes in...... read more read more
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By: Sgt. David Strayer
109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
KIRKUK, Iraq – Members of “Task Force Devil,” 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, along with the Kirkuk Provincial Police Transition Team, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the newly equipped criminal evidence unit’s forensics laboratory in Kirkuk City, Iraq, July 5.
Provincial investigative judges and the provincial director of police, Maj. Gen. Jamal, observed the ribbon cutting, and demonstrations of the new equipment and capabilities of the CEU.
“We have been working in conjunction with the CEU in getting the investigative judges to the forensics lab to see what kind of capabilities the CEU actually has,” said Maj. Edward Bahdi, brigade judge advocate, 1st AATF. “This event has been nine months in the making, and was a combined effort between the Provincial Reconstruction Team, Provincial Police Transition Team, the brigade judge advocate general’s office, as well as the Iraqi judiciary. There were a lot of moving pieces, and this was an important event for everyone involved, especially the Iraqi judiciary.”
Task Force Devil PPTT members spent the months leading up to the opening advising Iraqi Police staff and local leaders in the area.
“We want to aid these guys in better conducting their policing operations in the province,” said Maj. Thomas Vece, deputy team chief of the PPTT. “This includes training, crime scene management, evidence management, and forensics.”
The opening of this forensics facility at the CEU accomplished several of those goals, Vece said.
In Kirkuk province, evidence, testimony and deliberations are laid out before a panel of provincial investigative judges, rather than a jury of peers.
This panel of judges makes a consensus ruling on whether or not the case will go to trial at felonies court, furthering the importance of having reliable forensic evidence, said Bahdi, a native of Hackensack, N.J.
“It is extremely important that these judges have confidence and believe that the evidentiary packets and forensics reports that they receive are accurate and have been scrutinized to the most minute detail,” said Bahdi, who worked to coordinate the visit in order to foster cooperation between the Iraqi police and judiciary in Kirkuk province.
Because the investigative judges determine which cases go to trial at felonies court, Bahdi said witnessing the demonstrations and speaking with the forensics experts provides judges with a new perspective and understanding of what their internal capabilities are, and how to utilize them.
“This ceremony, and the presence of the provincial judges accomplishes several important things here,” said Verne Speirs, assistant U.S. attorney and Rule of Law advisory section chief. “It also works toward helping these judges, and rule of law provincial leaders in general, have a better understanding of how evidence is processed so that they can begin to trust more in what the evidence says in a case.”
Speirs said the CEU forensics facility provides judges with first-hand knowledge of how evidence such as ballistics, fingerprints and documentation verification can help bring clarity to a case, leading to fair rulings.
“This is all a huge step in the right direction for the policing and judiciary leaders in the province,” he said.
Vece said the goal is to synchronize all levels of law enforcement.
“What we want to see is evidence-based convictions, and everyone involved in the legal process understanding the importance of evidence preservation, collection, and processing,” Vece said.
Bahdi said the judicial visit was also significant in terms of building a stronger relationship between the Iraqi police and Iraqi judges.
“We are stepping away from U.S.-conducted forensics capabilities and now the Iraqis are relying on their own systems,” said Bahdi. “This is exactly the end state that we have all been working for.”
| Date Taken: | 07.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2011 04:25 |
| Story ID: | 73698 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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