The 4th ASEAN Police Forensic Science Network (APFSN) meeting has been successfully hosted by the Office of Investigation Police Agency (OIPA), Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Socialist Republic of Vietnam at The Crown Plaza West Hanoi from 25 to 27 February 2020 with the theme ‘Exploring the Challenges in Forensic’. The meeting was attended by ASEANAPOL Member Countries, ASEANAPOL Secretariat and invited guest speakers from INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) and National Crime Agency (NCA), United Kingdom.
The Opening Ceremony was graced by the Director General of OIPA, MPS, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Honourable Major General Do Van Hoanh, where he emphasised the importance of having a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) / Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) directive in order to streamline a roadmap for the committee through regional cooperation towards an effective forensic response to crimes and disaster.
Following the opening speech, the Director for Police Services of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Police Senior Superintendent Joni Getamala S.H delivered his welcome speech and stressed the importance of this forum to continue on building momentum for efficient cooperation on forensic matters by developing the Term Of Reference and Guidelines for the DVI/CSI Committee.
The three days meeting was chaired by Major General PHD. Le Danh Cuong, Director-General of Institute of Forensic Science and co - chaired by representative from Cambodian National Police, Lieutenant Colonel Sambath Sao. The participant also benefited the experience shared during presentation by Claire Dennis from IGCI and Richard Deacon from UK NCA.
As continuation from the previous meeting in Negara Brunei Darussalam, the meeting commenced with deliberation on the drafted DVI / CSI Term of Reference and Guidelines led by the Royal Malaysia Police as a current chairperson of the committee followed by presentation of ASEANAPOL Member Countries on their countries’ overview on challenges towards forensic investigation in the new era. The meeting also agreed with the deliberative documents to be further review by each member countries.
The 4th APFSN annual meeting acknowledged the support given by the member countries on the conduct of implementing APFSN needs. This meeting was conducted in complete unanimity with the spirit of ASEAN and Cambodian National Police will host the next meeting in January next year.
