HEAD of the Forensic Laboratory Dr Judith Mowatt has charged that improper storage of bullets taken from shooting victims by Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) officers has led to evidence being compromised in instances.

Dr Mowatt, who was making a presentation yesterday to the Joint Select Committee of Parliament reviewing the INDECOM Act, cited a case in which blood-stained bullets were collected after a post-mortem and kept by the commission for safe keeping and not made immediately available to the lab.

“INDECOM is taking the evidence, in our opinion, because of the need to distinguish the evidence from our establishment; they are keeping it and compromising the evidence,” Dr Mowatt said in response to queries from government committee member Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, who wanted to know whether factors such as the time in which the lab received samples impacted on the accuracy of its findings.

“The lab is dependent on the stakeholders giving us the evidence in a timely manner that we can examine it. We also depend on the stakeholders to preserve that evidence. You will agree that that will minimise contamination and/or deterioration,” said Dr Mowatt.

She also had concerns about the presence of blood on the stored bullets.

“It came to our attention that they (INDECOM) were storing the bullet with the blood still on it. Now forensic practitioners know that if the blood is not required for DNA purposes, you are to wash the blood stains off because it has been established through research that prolonged contact of bullets with blood will cause the metal to corrode,” she told the committee.

She said despite indications to INDECOM about this, the situation was still not rectified. “We found out and we indicated to them that if it is that you are keeping the bullets from the body, you have to wash off the blood stains; the blood in prolonged contact with the bullet is going to degrade the metal and we have found in examinations done subsequently of bullets kept in this way by them that the striations that are required for the microscopic examinations have in fact been compromised,” Dr Mowatt said.

That disclosure, however, came as a surprise to INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams.

“On the issue of degrading of bullets, it’s the first I am hearing about it. I am surprised that if this were so Dr Mowatt would not have written to me or e-mailed me or called me. Luckily, I speak to our ballistic expert (Matthew Noedel) on many occasions and he has never reported to me any degrading of a bullet which has been caused by blood being on the bullet and damaging the striations on the bullet,” the INDECOM head said. “I have never heard of it but if it, is so and it is happening I will speak to him. If Dr Mowatt can tell me some cases I will investigate to see whether that is so,” said Williams.

According to Dr Mowatt, the lab had in fact informed INDECOM’s chief forensics expert, a Mr Campbell.

“We informed Mr Campbell of our concerns and gave him instructions as to the proper way to collect and preserve the evidence; the fact that that information was never communicated to you is something I cannot take responsibility for, but in the future I will ensure that it is sent to your office in writing,” she said.

As for Noedel, Dr Mowatt said she respected him as a fellow forensic scientist and the work that he does. “However, like me, we have spoken and we have concerns that the current arrangement isn’t the most effective for the stated objective. Apart from that I have no issues with his examination of the evidence as an independent ballistics expert,” she told the committee.