Keeping up with the bad guys

ABU DHABI // It is a busy time for forensics experts in the capital. Fingerprints have been recovered from a half-smoked cigarette at a ransacked villa in Khalifa City; DNA extracted from skin particles found beneath a woman's fingernails is being analysed; footage from a surveillance camera shows a woman discreetly reaching into a supermarket till; hundreds of fraudulent passports, all with identical errors, are being examined for links to organised crime; empty shell casings are found near a house while hundreds of kilometres away a 9mm handgun is thrown away at the side of a road; a dead body lies at the foot of a 20-storey building - is it suicide or murder?

This is not some contrived plot for a glitzy Hollywood TV crime series, but a random sampling of the real crime-scene puzzles Abu Dhabi's Forensic Science Department is trying to solve. The department, with state-of-the-art equipment, an unlimited budget, and 350 highly skilled civilian and police workers, is one of the most advanced in the region. Although forensic science has always been a part of Abu Dhabi Police's make-up, the changing nature of crime and the role of the organisation have dramatically increased its importance over the past decade.

"Scientific evidence is unbiased. Forensics is a major part that drives us at the truth and justice is served more efficiently and accurately if you present scientific truth," said Col Abdul al Hammadi, the department's director. Sitting on the fifth floor of a dimly lit building inside the Abu Dhabi Police headquarters compound, Col al Hammadi is the epitome of efficiency - he often has a trail of people following in his wake who want reports signed or his opinion on a new development. But he does not just manage the department, he inspects many of the crime scenes himself.

"There is a greater need today for forensics than before," said Col al Hammadi. "Previously, courts relied on testimonies and witnesses, but today there is a demand for scientific proof. That proof is beyond a reasonable doubt." Last month the department was involved with 551 different cases - 76 per cent of which were in Abu Dhabi, 17 per cent in Al Ain and seven per cent in the northern Emirates.

More than half involved biological and chemical testing for alcohol, drugs or poisons. Each case can involve dozens of pieces of evidence which, in turn, can mean thousands of individual tests. And December is one of the department's slower months. Criminals have always been keen on using the latest technology, whether to help unlock safety deposit boxes or perfect the production of counterfeit money. "We not only have to match the criminals' tools we have to be a few steps ahead of them," says Col al Hammadi.

With seven sections using equipment on par with Britain's Scotland Yard and the latest technologies from the US and Canada, the forensics department is setting the bar high. "Our goal is to become one of the best forensics department in the world and there is no reason why we cannot be. We have the leadership of His Highness [Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, the Minister of Interior], the financial resources and the desire to be the best in the Middle East."

Lack of money is usually the barrier to achieving excellence but this is not the case in Abu Dhabi. "Our budget works like this: whatever project you have, you submit it with a detailed justification and if the leadership sees merit to it, there is no reason why it shouldn't be approved, however big," said Col al Hammadi. The backing of Sheikh Saif is the driving force behind what many experts consider to be the Middle East's best forensics department.

With an internal auditing process reporting directly to the minister, the department has set a New Year's goal to have all its units accredited by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), which sets the standards for technical excellence worldwide. The analytical chemical unit was recently reviewed by the ISO and won accreditation, putting Abu Dhabi on par with Britain. The department asked The National not to publish details of its equipment so as not to give criminals here or abroad any help in avoiding detection.

With the UAE's cosmopolitan population, an investigation can include several places, or even countries. This globalisation of crime presents a communications challenge to every forensics department. "Our relationship with other emirates is excellent. Aside from several meetings annually, we exchange ideas and information regularly," said Col al Hammadi. "If there are certain machines that Dubai for example has and we only need it once a year, we don't need to buy it. If we have an expert in a field Sharjah needs, we share him. We always work together."

A nationwide registry of criminal evidence is also being compiled to make sharing intelligence more straightforward. "The biggest challenge for us today is that today's crime scenes are often global. A part of a crime can be committed here and in another country. We are constantly working on developing ways to exchange information with other countries," Col al Hammadi added. myoussef@thenational.ae