Finally, amid all the doom and gloom, there was a glimmer of good news this week with the official launch of the Forensic Science Biology Laboratory in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Given SA’s DNA backlog, which stretches back almost two decades, according to the Institute for Security Studies, the upgraded lab, it is hoped, will accelerate the wrapping up of criminal cases that have languished due to the absence of DNA results, resulting in a substantial backlog, particularly with regard to sexual offences.
Though only officially opened on Thursday, the laboratory has been functional since February, with more than 6,000 DNA samples processed so far.
Previously, it took between six and seven months for the results of forensic tests done in Cape Town to become available, leading to the courts sometimes not allowing further postponements for the outstanding test results.
And we all know that forensic science and, as a result forensic labs, are a critical component of the criminal justice system and have been known to make — or break — a case.
While not necessarily a matter which would have been resolved through the North End lab, one need only look to the Ingram family who are still awaiting toxicology reports three years after their children Tammy and Matthew died to realise the role such labs play in the pursuit of justice.
The siblings and their parents Stanton and Selina fell ill on August 22 2020, allegedly after inhaling noxious fumes from one of the units in the Kabega Park complex where they stayed which was being fumigated for borer beetle.
While an inquest investigation has been completed, police are still awaiting the toxicology report from Cape Town before the docket will be sent to the court for a formal inquest.
In a world where crime is ever-evolving and criminals become more sophisticated, the continued advancement of forensic science and the establishment and support of forensic laboratories are essential for the pursuit of justice.
We hope, after all the fanfare of an official launch attended by the likes of President Cyril Ramaphosa, police minister Bheki Cele and Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, the lab will continue to be supported with as much enthusiasm as we saw displayed on Thursday.
We also hope that, at last, victims who depend on the goings-on behind the lab’s doors, start to witness the wheels of justice turn in their favour.
HeraldLIVE