By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE government is now engaging bidders to finalise contracts for a long-needed forensic laboratory, a move officials say is critical to easing long delays in sex-related cases that depend on DNA evidence.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said discussions follow the posting of the project on the government’s procurement portal late last year, with the facility expected to be built through a public-private partnership.

“There’s a committee that’s chaired by Assistant Commissioner of Police Earl Thompson, that has provided the specifications for this lab that will include pathology all the way up to chemical, biological and DNA analysis, inclusive of firearms and ballistic analysis,” Mr Munroe told reporters yesterday. “We’re at the point now of engaging with the persons who have expressed interest to see about firming up contract for the an agreement for the construction of that building.”

The lack of a national forensic lab has forced authorities to send samples abroad for testing, leaving rape survivors waiting months for results while cases stall in the courts. Police officers personally transport specimens overseas to maintain the chain of custody.

Mr Munroe believes court delays extend beyond DNA testing, stressing that the judicial system suffers from too few defence attorneys and limited court resources. He has also rejected claims that slow rape kit processing alone is driving the sexual offence backlog, blaming systemic inefficiencies in the courts for many unresolved cases. He has insisted that financing is not the obstacle to establishing the lab, pointing instead to technical requirements.