Worrying findings on Forensic Science Centre

QUESTIONED last month on the lack of progress relating to investigations into the death of Beetham resident Ornella Greaves, National Security Minister Stuart Young made a striking suggestion.

“It may be appropriate in the current circumstances that a coroner’s inquest be launched to investigate this particular unfortunate incident,” he said.

Those circumstances include the lack of any findings in relation to Ms Greaves, who was pregnant when she died last June after being shot during a confrontation between police and protesters. (Mr Young said he was unaware the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) was probing her death.)

A coroner’s inquest, which could see evidence dispassionately weighed and assessed by an independent judicial officer in a public setting, would have more credibility than an investigation into police by the police – as occurs when the Professional Standards Bureau investigates.

It would also bring some closure, one way or another, to Ms Greaves’ family, in circumstances in which it is unclear whether the independent PCA can do so in a timely manner. This could be a way forward not only for Ms Greaves’ case but for all police-involved killings.

But there’s a hitch. Any inquest would have to rely on evidence gathered, processed and stored at the Forensic Science Centre (FSC). That is the same FSC that police interact with and rely on.

And as we learned over the weekend from an interview in this newspaper with the PCA’s deputy director Michelle Solomon-Baksh, it is also the same centre on which the PCA relies.

Since the PCA is never at the scene of a crime (reports to it are made or initiated after the fact), it is the police who control what evidence makes it to the FSC and what does not.

The perception is that the PCA is slow to come to findings in cases, and Ms Greaves’ is a good example. In the past, various officials at the authority have complained about a lack of powers and a lack of resources.

While it likes to clarify that it is not a part of the police service, the PCA has a history of relying on retired police officers or, in some past instances, active police investigators.

But according to Ms Solomon-Baksh, the real problem is the logjam at the FSC.

“The delay isn’t here,” she averred. “We have 42 matters outstanding at Forensics.”

Ballistics backlogs are not new. However, in 2019, a parliament committee heard evidence from acting director of the FSC Derrick Sankar suggesting the centre prioritises certain cases, including cases involving police shootings.

Still, Ms Solomon-Baksh’s statement, as well as the recent questions raised over the handling of the body of Andrea Bharatt, present even more compelling evidence suggesting all is not well at the FSC. When can we expect these shortcomings to be put right?