OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports seminar on strengthening co-operation between prosecutors and police on forensic evidence

Podgorica, 4 October 2017 – Forensic evidence and the application of modern forensic standards in the judiciary were the focus of an OSCE-supported seminar held on 3 and 4 October in Podgorica. Particular emphasis was placed on the treatment of evidence, forensic analytics, explosions, DNA analysis and crime scene investigation.

The seminar gathered 25 prosecutors and judges from Berane, Pljevlja, Plav, Bijelo Polje, Rožaje and Danilovgrad, who learnt about the variety of forensic evidence that must be collected and processed and how it is retained appropriately. Additionally, they discussed the importance of co-ordinated action amongst all those involved in a criminal investigation, including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and forensic professionals.

Four eminent national forensic experts delivered lectures and did a procedural review of several criminal investigations conducted in Montenegro, pointing out both good practices in and challenges to  co-operation. The head of the training unit in the Centre for Training in Judiciary and State Prosecution (JTC), Maša Adžić, noted: “Efficient communication and effective co-ordination between the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary is vital in the beginning of each investigation.”

The event follows on a series of similar seminars held in the course of 2016 and from June this year and is part of the Mission’s continued co-operation with the JTC and the Forensic Centre of the Montenegrin Police on the topic.