THE Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights is calling on government to provide the human and technical resources necessary for the establishment of an effective forensic unit and investigative system.

This, as the group says the twists and turns in the investigation in the Bob Woolmer case, does not inspire confidence in the credibility of forensic services in Jamaica.

In a news release issued Wednesday, legal officer of the council Nancy Anderson, said that the high profile case has brought the inadequacies to the forefront, and “also brings into question the reliability of the forensic investigations on which reliance has been placed in respect of the investigations of many deaths in Jamaica”.

“The investigation into the death of Bob Woolmer has taken another turn, or a turn around. The major investigative tool has been the forensic examinations of the body. The twists and turns – from natural causes to strangulation, to poisoning, and back to natural causes – do not inspire confidence,” Anderson said.

She suggested that statements and press conferences, while necessary for informing the public, have to be carefully presented and confidently backed up with evidence.

“The prompt response of the police, the use of forensic experts from abroad, the updating of the public through press conferences and the visible, and high level, expression of sympathy to friends and family of the victim are rarely seen in the investigation of deaths in Jamaica. They should become commonplace and these services extended anytime and every time anyone dies in violent or suspicious circumstances,” she said.