THE government yesterday announced plans to build a state-of-the-art morgue in Kingston, in the aftermath of the exposure of the gross inadequacies of the island’s pathological capabilities.

The announcement was made by the minister of national security, Peter Phillips, during a press conference at his ministry in Kingston yesterday.

“Eighty million dollars has been allocated for the construction of a new public morgue. The land is to be acquired from the KSAC,” Phillips told reporters.

At present, the morgue facilities at the public hospitals are dilapidated and overburdened and private funeral homes have been given contracts to store bodies of persons who were violently killed or died under mysterious circumstances.

The recent post-mortem on former cricket coach Bob Woolmer brought the issue to the fore after overseas pathologists decried the methods used by head of the department of pathology, Dr Ere Seshaiah, who performed the operation on Woolmer’s body.

Seshaiah’s finding – that Woolmer was murdered – has been dismissed by his international colleagues and his fate now lies in the findings of a Ian Forte-led team, mandated by Phillips on Wednesday, to review the investigative techniques and forensic methods used in the Woolmer probe.

Seshaiah has, however, insisted that Woolmer was murdered despite criticism of his work.

Yesterday, Phillips told reporters that the review committee was set up because of the conflicting views of the pathologists.

The building of the new morgue is among a number of measures the government will put in place to sustain an effort to fight crime, the security minister said.

He said:

. Dr Herbert Thompson, president of the Northern Caribbean University, will head a committee which will undertake a review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The committee will look into the legislative framework, structure and operations of the high command of the force.

. The police will benefit from a new computer system which will interface with the Correctional Services Department and the courts.

. There is to be an upgrade of the DNA processing laboratory.

. Government will step up its anti-corruption efforts to rid the force of corrupt cops.

. District constables are to be replaced by volunteer community service officers.

“We are trying to revive the spirit of volunteerism,” Phillips said.

District Constables who wish to join the Island Special Constabulary Force or the Jamaica Constabulary Force will be allowed entry once they fulfil training and matriculation requirements.