Praneeta Prakash 
[Photo: FIJI WOMEN LAW ASSOCIATION/ FACEBOOK]
The Fiji Women Lawyers Association is calling for the establishment of an independent forensic services body, saying it will strengthen transparency, accountability and public confidence in criminal investigations.
During submissions on the proposed Police Bill before the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights, committee member Faiyaz Koya questioned the forensic services.
Board deputy chair Madonna Fong says forensic services should be removed from the Police Force and placed under a separate statutory body.
“Our recommendation is to ensure that policing is removed. There should really be an independent forensic body that deals with forensic services. So to answer your question respectfully, that would be removed into its own; there would have to be a separate, yes, a separate body with its own statutory makeup, I suppose. “
Fong says an independent agency will ensure specialised handling of forensic evidence.
“There’s just been so many issues with the evidence and from the female and child point of view, that first, if the first line of the police complaint and those officers are the ones that are tasked with conducting, as I mentioned, rape kits, so on and so forth, it has been problematic. They’re not uniform.”
Fong adds that an independent forensic body will also improve transparency by separating evidence gathering from the agency responsible for prosecutions, helping to eliminate perceptions of bias.
