National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang says, while certain private mortuaries will “not be happy” with the completion of the long-awaited Government forensic pathology autopsy suite which will save the State “a fortune” on storage fees, the facility “is a major and welcome addition to our growth as a civilised society”.

Speaking at the opening of the suite located at 149 Orange Street in downtown Kingston — a stone’s throw from Kingston Public Hospital — on Thursday morning, Dr Chang noted that “the autopsy suite can handle volume even in the event of an epidemic or unfortunate event”.

“We don’t have to rely on the funeral homes which do not have the appropriate facilities for medical, legal investigations,” he added.

“As we complete the development of the unit we expect we can deliver quality prosecuting evidence, even in complex cases, in a timely manner to the courts. Certain morgues will not be happy because the way they manage even the dead is not humane; you go there and even though it might be criminals that are there, it’s really not appropriate to see any element of humanity in those conditions,” said the national security minister, who is also a medical doctor.

The absence of an autopsy suite has caused major angst over the years, chief among them the expense of outsourcing the services to privately operated funeral homes which, between 2017 and 2021, cost the Government $482 million for the storage of bodies.

For example, a 2011 contract to Madden’s Funeral Home for the provision of funeral home/morgue services, specifically for the storage of bodies saw the Government paying a proposed rate of $875 per body, per day. That figure has increased since.

On Thursday Dr Chang said the introduction of the suite, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, is a game-changer which will impact how even attorneys approach their cases.

“We have been able to contain and manage it, but I am sure as soon as this facility opens the lawyers who will come here will begin to have second thoughts about when they get cases from other facilities out there,” he said.

In the meantime, he emphasised that the facility “is not a public morgue” but “an autopsy suite designed to be used by specialists — the pathologists to do the proper post-investigation after death — so we can have the correct evidence to take to court”.

“It is a critical unit in the entire criminal justice system… if you have credible, quality, professional evidence, that’s the key to successful prosecution of any case and that’s what this does today,” he stated.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Andrew Lewis, who was representing Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake, in declaring that the police were “truly delighted for this day”, said “this facility will allow us to close cases faster, conduct speedier investigations”.

“Conclusively identifying cause of death and suspects means, for us, improved clear-up rates, speedier trials and more convictions in the courts leading to more guilty offenders being placed behind bars in correctional facilities and an overall reduction in crime. The shift towards a more crime-free society is happening now and a facility like this will hope to keep it sustained,” Lewis said, while referencing the 44.6 per cent reduction in murders and 20 per cent reduction overall in major crimes being experienced islandwide so far.

“These reductions are not just statistics, they represent the country’s resolve to treat with a problem we have had over three decades. It is investments like this we will not give up, and we will not stop until the crime monster is slayed,” he said.

Dr Judith Mowatt, director of the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, said “we intend to welcome to this facility forensic pathologists, collaborators from overseas, police officers, and countless others, as we use the facility to conduct autopsies, train the future generation of forensic pathologists, conduct histology and microscopic examinations that will bring closure to the families”.

Dr Mowatt said the state-of-the-art equipment and technology will be used to determine how people’s loved ones died and, “in keeping with our mandate and commitment to excellence we will research, innovate and teach”.

The institute, an independent investigative unit under the Ministry of National Security, performs post-mortem examinations on behalf of the coroner for the entire island, among other duties.

On Thursday, Dr Chang said the suite, which has an expanded DNA storage facility, is also equipped with a ballistic centre to store data for all firearms in the country, both legal and illegal. He said the facility, for which plans have been in train since 2007, was completed at a cost of $680 million.

Chang, however, admitted that staffing would pose a hurdle.

“We still have a few challenges because forensic science is not the most attractive area for a lot of people and they are critical players, it’s not just doctors. Our pathologists, when they get trained, ship off to all over the world. They get good money. I think of the last seven, one is Germany; they are all over the world,” he said.

In February this year the
Jamaica Observer was reliably informed that there were only six pathologists employed to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine.

At the time Dr Mowatt told this newspaper that there are ongoing efforts to recruit pathologists from abroad. That same month the
Observer was told that there are 490 bodies awaiting autopsies in Jamaica, some of which have been on ice since November last year.

This video grab shows Dr Judith Mowatt, director of the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, speaking at the opening of the Government forensic pathology autopsy suite on Thursday.