Regional Forensic Days in Danilovgrad conference held online with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro
Co-operation among forensic centres is vital in the fight against transnational and organized crime, particularly in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the conclusion of ‘Regional Forensic Days in Danilovgrad’, an online conference organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the national Forensic Centre of the Police Directorate on 16 December 2020.
More than 20 participants from accredited forensic laboratories from Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia took part in the conference and exchanged their experiences and research results on specific aspects of forensic science.
Originally planned for April, the conference was delayed and took place virtually due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To support the Forensic Centre in hosting virtual conferences, the Mission donated 10 laptops for each department together with a WebEx licence and digital forensic licences valued at almost 20,000 EUR.
Stephen Harmon, acting Programme Manager at the Mission said that today’s event served as a forum for discussing and exchanging best practices for organizing forensic examinations during this challenging period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Without your thorough scientific expertise, prosecution of serious and organized crime would be impossible,” said Harmon. He announced that the Mission will donate additional software and equipment to the Police Directorate to further support cyber-crime investigations and fight serious and organized crime. “Some of the donated equipment has already been used to organize this conference. The final package of equipment will be delivered to the Police Directorate in the forthcoming days,” said Harmon.
Aleksandar Ivanović, Head of the Forensic Centre, said that regional forensic co-operation should play a key role in identifying perpetrators. “Regional exchange of forensic data is a ‘conditio sine qua non’, or an essential action, for shedding light on cases of cross-border crime, corruption and terrorism. In addition to our good co-operation and good will, for more efficient work in conducting criminal-forensic investigations, it would be necessary to make this regional exchange official through a protocol or agreement on co-operation between our forensic institutions,” said Ivanović.
The OSCE Mission to Montenegro reinforces its commitment to supporting the Montenegrin authorities in fighting organized and serious crime.