NSW is now home to a cutting-edge forensic laboratory with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) bolstering its fight against serious organised crime.
Chief Scientific Officer at AFP, Simon Walsh said the new lab would enable serious drug, weapons and child abuse crime to be solved more quickly in NSW.
Dr Walsh said the lab enabled forensic scientists to examine exhibits and uncover evidence more quickly, including identifying the chemical composition of drug seizures, recover evidence from badly damaged mobile phones, and link DNA recovered from crime scenes to persons of interest.
“While our previous forensic laboratory helped us secure many convictions, it was important that we future-proof one of our busiest headquarters with the space and tools it needed to continue the fight against crime,” Dr Walsh said.
He said the new lab had already had a significant impact on AFP investigations.
“In one case, our scientists were able to extract components from a mobile phone that was badly damaged in a fire and recover important evidence,” Dr Walsh said.
“Previously, we may have requested assistance from a partner agency but sharing exhibits can be restricted because of operational security,” he said.
“Now we are able to provide a much-needed boost to AFP operations regionally and also work more collaboratively with our law enforcement partners here in NSW and interstate to help fight crime.”
Dr Walsh said the new workspace boasted a dedicated fingerprint lab that included two darkrooms to ensure fluorescent prints taken from crime scenes can be easily photographed and uploaded to databases.
He said the lab also enabled the crime scenes team to run simultaneous and multiple examinations, “which is particularly important when a high-number of search warrants have been executed and a large volume of evidence has been seized”.
“The new facility represents about a 75 per cent increase in physical space, but the implementation of advanced technology means it is a quantum leap in terms of capability gain,” the Chief Scientific Officer said.
