By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 24 June 2014:
The Ministry of Interior announced today the . . .[restrict]opening of a new police forensic training laboratory in Tripoli. The new facility will be used to train members of the police force to properly treat and investigate crime scenes.
The laboratory, which is located in the Art School at the General Administration of Training headquarters, consists of four rooms equipped with the latest technology in the field of forensic science.
The forensic training programme, which is one part of a larger plan for security cooperation between Libya and the UK, meets a great need for the Libyan police force, whose training was largely ignored after the revolution.
Former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan even admitted indirectly at a press conference last year that the Libyan Forensic and Criminal Investigation Departments were incapable of conducting investigations on their own that were likely to lead to arrests and convictions.
The UK’s involvement in security training in Libya comes in response to a direct plea from the Libyan government under Zeidan for international help in criminal investigation.
The laboratory officially opened at a ceremony held on Monday. Those in attendance included General Adel Sammati, Ministry of Interior Undersecretary for Security Affiars, Colonel Abdel-Nasser Atturki, Director of the General Administration of Training, British embassy officials and members of the Counter Crime Agency. [/restrict]