ENG-2000 — Page 375

PUBLIC ORDER

the Police Force by members of the public and a system that can provide a means of identifying perpetrators of crime by their modus operandi.

Forensic Firearms Examination

The Forensic Firearms Examination Bureau continues to play an important role in the investigation of firearms-related crimes by providing advance scientific services to the Police Force and other disciplined services departments. In the beginning of the year, the bureau was accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), and is now ranked in equal status with forensic laboratories overseas, for example, the FBI Laboratory in the United States.

Good working relationships are maintained with Macau and other regional forensic laboratories in the investigation of cross-boundary crimes.

The bureau's scanning electron microscope and the computerised bullet and cartridge identification system remain the most advanced pieces of equipment used in the region in solving firearms-related crimes.

Identification

The Identification Bureau plays a significant role in the investigation and detection of crimes through gathering of fingerprint evidence from crime scenes and subsequent fingerprint identification.

The Scenes of Crime Section provides a 24-hour response to crime scenes for fingerprint examination. In addition to a variety of powdering methods currently used by scenes of crime specialists, the section employs chemical techniques to augment its detection capability. During the year, the scenes of crime operational officers examined 16 470 crime scenes, 89 per cent of which were attended within 45 minutes, recovering fingerprint evidence in 12 368 cases. The Advanced Technology Section, which employs the latest laboratory techniques and instruments to find fingerprints and palmprints on exhibits, identified 482 persons for 2 912 cases.

The Computer Assisted Fingerprint Identification System, one of the most advanced fingerprint search systems, has greatly enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of fingerprint searching in the bureau. In 2000, the computer system made 229 148 fingerprint searches, which established the criminal history of 60 315 individuals, and identified 719 fingerprints obtained from evidence and crime scenes. Nevertheless, manual search methods are still employed in identification work. During the year, 1 009 fingerprint and palmprints of named suspects were identified

such methods.

In 2000, officers of the Photographic Section attended 4053 crime scenes, producing 84 330 monochrome photographs and 1 069 654 colour prints and slides. Special forensic photographic services such as infrared, ultraviolet and laser photography, video crime scene re-enactment and printing of photographs from bank surveillance films and video tapes are available upon demand to police units and other government departments which have such a special need.

Liaison

The Liaison Bureau acts as a co-ordination centre in dealing with all police-related inquiries from overseas police organisations and local consulate officials.

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