By Orville Williams
‘Step by step’ is the approach being recommended by Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney if the government is to minimise its spending while investing in the country’s first and only forensic laboratory.
“It is something we have [previously] mentioned and there is a need, but in terms of the costing, it is an expensive venture not only to create the forensic lab, but to also maintain [the facility],” Rodney explained during a recent appearance on Observer AM.
“What we’re saying and we are suggesting is that it can start in stages. There are certain things maybe we can start to do locally and as we evolve, we continue to do other things,” he added.
Rodney’s advice comes amid renewed calls for Antigua and Barbuda to build and operate its own forensic lab, particularly because of the time it takes to receive confirmation when samples are sent to labs abroad for analysis.
For years, the police have had to depend on forensic services in countries like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago for DNA analysis, but those services are not always the most efficient.
Local priorities in the labs’ home countries and, in some cases, the apparent tardiness of the Antigua and Barbuda government in settling arrears have forced the families of some victims to wait several months for identity confirmation.
A particularly lengthy wait was suffered by a Nut Grove father whose teenage son was believed to have perished in a house fire in January 2022, with the youngster’s remains sent abroad for analysis after being discovered at the scene of the blaze. It took 11 months for the results to be returned.
The Willikies family of still-missing autistic teen, Shamar Harrigan, will certainly be hoping they will not be made to wait that long, as human remains found in close proximity to some of Harrigan’s personal effects during a search for the young boy in December last year were also sent abroad for testing.
And the need for a forensic lab doesn’t stop at the agonising wait families have had to endure, the prosecution of homicide cases has also been affected by the ineffectiveness of sending samples abroad.
In a case currently before the High Court, the three men accused of killing Gray’s Farm resident, Arthur James, were charged with murder six months after James was last seen and his burnt remains found in October 2021.
The men were jointly charged with kidnapping a month after James went missing, but the murder charge was ‘delayed’ until April 2022 while the authorities awaited the results of forensic testing.
Similar delays were experienced in the case of murdered Customs Officer, Nigel Christian, as the court proceedings had to be adjourned on multiple occasions while the prosecution waited to receive reports from overseas.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne had promised that the country would construct its own forensic lab last year during his annual budget presentation early in February, and while no pronouncements have been made at that level since, it is believed that the cost of the venture continues to prove the most prohibitive.
According to the CoP, the cost is likely to be an issue even after the facility is built, based on the amount of traffic it is likely to receive, but he believes it will undoubtedly be a worthwhile investment for the nation.
“We will continue to have that [cost] challenge, because even if you have a full-fledged forensic lab, you have to look at the numbers that we have in Antigua, because as much as some persons want to say things are bad, things are not that bad compared to some of the cases other countries have.
“But it’s something that we have to continue to build on and that’s why our suggestion is now, start small. If we start with the ballistics part – where we can only do ballistics – [or] if we can only do DNA, let us deal with that, [and] if we can do other things when it comes to forensics, let us start somewhere,” Rodney recommended.
“[A forensic lab is] something that, hopefully, one day Antigua will have its own,” he added.