Caribbean Forensics Reform

Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) has been working closely with the governments of St Lucia, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana to build the capacity of their respective criminal justice sector institutions to more effectively combat trafficking, violence, and corruption associated with transnational organized crime and localized gangs since 2020. SCG provides training, advisory, and mentoring support (in-person and remotely) to partner forensic laboratories and other forensics specialists, including investigators and other law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and judges in obtaining and using forensic evidence according to international standards in support of criminal prosecutions. The program, which is designed to contribute to wider regional security objectives by increasing the use of these labs by other Caribbean countries, also includes the use of study tours, workshops, and other knowledge exchange mechanisms.

Strategic Capacity Group’s Spearheading Forensics Reform in the Caribbean program helps institutionalize policies, procedures, and practices consistent with international forensic standards, works toward or otherwise expands the scope of national lab accreditation, and contributes to regional security objectives. In 2022, during the first phase of SCG’s program, St. Lucia became the first accredited forensic laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and established itself as a Regional Forensic Service Provider and Center of Excellence. The program’s second phase, which began in 2025, emphasizes such capacity building priorities as drug chemistry analysis, forensic biology, DNA testing and analysis, digital pathology, firearms and ballistics, and digital forensics. Program activities center on achieving the following four objectives:  

• Building capacity of law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges to obtain, understand, and more effectively use forensic evidence in criminal prosecution.  

• Training forensic executives and managers in quality assurance and control, and leadership.  

• Working with the regional governments and their respective labs to adopt regional coordination and cooperation mechanisms to acquire and apply forensic evidence, including facilitating knowledge and expertise exchanges.

• Developing and applying approaches for monitoring and measuring the use of forensic evidence in prosecutions.

• Niger National Police counter narcotics task force, Office Central de Répression du Trafic Illicite des Stupéfiants (OCRTIS), project to improve their management structure, processes, and operational capacity, including enhancing laboratory capacity for illicit substance identification and a Joint Coordination Center for inter-agency coordination.

• Maritime Law Enforcement in the Eastern Caribbean project, including establishment of a Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, an Anti-Corruption Unit, prosecutorial collaboration mechanisms, and capacity building to enhance investigations into transnational criminal organizations through the Asset Recovery Unit and Digital Forensics Lab.

• Assessment of the anti-corruption initiatives of the General Police Inspectorate, Border Police, and Carabinieri in Moldova.

• Series of Narcotics Investigations Courses for the Malian Central Office of Narcotics, Specialized Judicial Center, Police Narcotics Brigade, Gendarmerie Investigation Services, Forensic Investigation Services, and Customs.