US Embassy Will Provide Training

Carlos Moreno

Training for use of the equipment will be provided by the US Embassy, and Director Henderson says that in January, a staff member returns with a master’s degree in forensic science. According to Ambassador Moreno, police officers, prosecutors as well as judges will be brought on board to maximize use of the equipment by the criminal justice system.

Carlos Moreno, U.S. Ambassador to Belize

“Once the evidence is evaluated, it must be presented in court so police officers, will have to know the ins and outs—of not only collecting the evidence, but also presenting testimony about it. prosecutors—and I was a former prosecutor for about four years working with some these instruments—have to know sort of the basics about how the instrument does its analysis. And then also judges have to know whether or not this kind of evidence is admissible and whether the proper procedures were followed. So this represents a huge investment both by the government of Belize and the United States to ensure quality control in analyzing substances—both legal and illegal—that are going to be presented in the courtroom for purposes of criminal prosecutions. One of the missions here, the U.S. government has is to stem the flow of illegal narcotics that may be transiting through Belize; our primary concern of course would be cocaine. This instrument will assist when there are interdictions of those drugs either on sea or land. Those substances can be properly analyzed and the results can be presented in court in cases of criminal prosecution.”