The vital role of local forensic scientists

JAKARTA (JP): Police surgeons and forensic pathologists have earned a remarkable reputation for the crucial role they play in helping detectives solve crimes in the capital.

Although the jobs are almost as old as the force itself, these officers' skills were rarely utilized in analyzing evidence and clues in criminal cases up to the middle of last year.

"Only a few people know who and what we are although we already have most of the world's sophisticated forensic tools," said a senior officer of the National Police's Forensic Laboratory Center here last year.

Today, the police surgeons and pathologists are always called upon to assist police officers at crime scenes in almost every major case, including homicides, fires, rapes, robberies, shootings, traffic accidents and drug-related cases.

The new policy was initiated by the Jakarta police last year under the leadership of chief May. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, who is now a four-star general and chief of the Indonesian National Police Force.

Along with the maximal use of the services of police surgeons and pathologists, the Jakarta Police Force has also set up a new unit, called the Quick Response Unit, a team of specially trained officers.

The team, expected to be the first officers to arrive at scenes of crimes, is assigned to ensure the security of the site and to prepare for the arrival of the police surgeons.

Together, they examine, collect and list as much evidence as possible and report their preliminary findings to the senior police detectives at the scene.

Any bodies found are rushed to the state Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for post-mortem examinations by hospital pathologists.

Detailed reports on certain material evidence, such as fingerprints, post-mortem results, blood types, hair, bullets, fluid, are handed over later to the detectives in charge.

Officers at the National Police's Forensic Laboratory Center are proud to say that their lab is home to an array of the world's latest forensic technologies, including lie detectors, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testers, an absorbency detector, a liquid chromatograph, an ultraviolet spectrometer and a detector for flammable liquid.

The 42-year-old laboratory, located in a four-story building at the National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta, also has the fully-computerized Hewlett Packard GC-IRD-MS device, which combines gas chromatography, an infrared detector and a mass spectrometer, for material identification of narcotics, firearms, drugs, polluted matter, ashes and toxic material.

Many warmly welcome the team of four police surgeons, pathologists, scenes-of-crime police officers and detectives when they come to investigate serious crimes.

Pathologists at the state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital also appreciate the favorable collaboration.

Nevertheless, the work of the Police Forensic Laboratory Center is viewed as a tiresome process.

In some cases, such as fire, compiling reports takes months.

Their report on last month's fire in Bogor, for instance, has yet to be completed.

"We haven't received their final report about the cause of the fire yet," said Bogor Police Chief Col. Dadang Garnida last week.

When asked to comment about the sluggish work of the police surgeons, Col. Adang Rismanto, the newly-appointed head of the Chemical & Biology Forensic Department of the Police Forensic Laboratory promised improve the process.

"I'll try to further shorten the working duration in order to help the detectives in charge to immediately solve the cases," said Adang, former head of the Jakarta detectives, who is now the head of biology and chemicals forensic department at the National Police headquarters. (bsr)