DA wants forensic laboratories revamped

By Khanyisa Tabata
15 April 2010

The Democratic Alliance today presented a five-point plan to address severe backlogs at the police’s forensic science and chemistry laboratories.

The DA's Dianne Kohler Barnard says too many court cases have been scrapped due to forensic evidence being lost or delayed.

She now wants the laboratories removed from the Police Force and merged into a Forensic Laboratory Service which would operate as a private-public entity.

“The police’s Forensic Science Laboratories and the Department of Health’s Forensic Chemistry Laboratories play a critical role in the prosecution and conviction of criminals. However, if these laboratories are not functioning optimally, court cases depending on forensic evidence can be delayed, lost or dropped.

This is precisely what is happening in South Africa. Over the last four years, court case backlogs have steadily risen driven in large part by backlogs in our forensic laboratories,” said Kohler Barnard.