Press Releases
24 Tanzania Police Force take forensic course
January 26, 2007
Forensic experts from the U.S. conducted a two-week training course recently on marijuana analysis for 24 Tanzania Police Force (TPF) participants who had a chance to do hands on work with microscopes and chemical testing as well as document examination in the analysis of typewriting and comparison of documents using Typewriters.
According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy the experts who conducted the training are Terry Mills, a Forensic Chemist. Mills is a retired head of Georgia State Crime Laboratory and has written a definitive chemistry handbook and Meredith Dekalb, a Forensic Document Examiner. Dekalb was a former Document Examiner with the FBI.
The U.S. government through Carla Noziglia, Senior Forensic Advisor has been conducting training, installing instruments and equipping the laboratory since 2002. The TPF on the other hand has renovated its forensic laboratory, and with the equipment and training provided by the U.S. a full service, state-of-the-art forensic laboratory is expected. The on-going programme is envisioned to be completed in 2009.
Noziglia said so far 122 police officers have received basic and advanced training on Fingerprint, Latent print, Firearms and Scenes of Crime. “Training on Forensic Chemists started last year with a batch of 14 participants and more training are expected this year,” Noziglia said.
She also said 27 districts in the country have been provided with cameras and crime scene kits. Other equipment donated by the U.S government to the laboratory include two gas chromatographs, an FTIR, six microscopes, four balances, two centrifuges, a superglue fuming cabinet, 55 file cabinets for 10 print cards, and fingerprint supplies.
The Forensic Laboratory will have additional sections in Chemistry, Toxicology, Trace and Biology. The laboratory is part of a cooperative agreement on law enforcement signed between the United States and Tanzania, in which the two pledge to raise the standard of law enforcement in Tanzania through training, equipment, and the construction of the laboratory.