Accra, Dec. 16, GNA -

Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Friday said forensic investigations had become an integral part of all sectors of life to enhance truth and legality.

“That is why the state-of-the-art finger-print machines are installed to reduce the burden of traveling outside and spending so much on such investigations outside the country”.

Vice President Mahama made the observation when inaugurating the refurbished Three Million Euros Forensic Science Laboratory for the Ghana Police Service in Accra. It was financed by the European Union.

The laboratory, which has a ballistic, DNA, document examination, chemical and photography sections is the first of its kind in West Africa and expected to serve Ghana and her neighbours in the Sub-Region.

In addition, it has important equipment to detect trans-national crime, cross-border crimes, drug related crimes, human trafficking and other negative activities.

Vice President Mahama said apart from the laboratory, government had also equipped the Police Service with vehicles and other equipment to enhance their performance in stemming crime.

He directed the Ministry of Interior and the Inspector General of Police to allocate adequate funds for the effective functioning of the laboratory to meet international best practices.

Vice President Mahama noted that government would continue to support the Police Administration to train their staff effectively to enable them handle the laboratory in accordance with international standards.

He indicated that the Constitution of Ghana had been working for almost 20 years and therefore, unacceptable for people to be engaged in practices that could dent the country's image.

Vice President Mahama reiterated the call for in-depth investigations into the missing cocaine that allegedly turned into sodium bicarbonate to deal with the culprits according to the country's laws.

Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, the IGP, said among the numerous benefits of forensic science was the one that made it possible “to create a picture of how a crime occurred, who committed the crime, where did it occur, what weapons were used and when was the crime committed ."

He said the project was so dear to his heart that he personally nurtured “this project from its inception to its completion, and for me it’s like a mother’s joy after delivery of a new born baby”.

The IGP therefore expressed the Police Administration’s appreciation to the EU not only for the funding for the project, but also for the technical assistance and guidance they gave throughout the duration of the project.

Mr Claude Maerten, Head, European Union Delegation to Ghana said it took four years for the project to be completed and that it had become a timely addition to Ghana’s crime fighting machinery.

He said with the laboratory, capacity of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) had been considerably strengthened and given new technologies and specialist human resources.

Mr Maerten said since forensic science impacted on a number of fundamental human rights and privacy, therefore, the legal framework to support its operations were rightly being updated in order to give Ghana Police solid and modern platform for work respectful of their fundamental rights of the people.