Good morning. It
truly is an honor to join you today to open the Second Annual International
Forensic Science Symposium.
Everyone here knows the significance of this week’s
event. Forensic science is an essential
law enforcement tool in our shared mission of investigating, combatting, and
deterring dangerous criminals that threaten each of our countries. The international accreditation of our
forensic evidence laboratories enhances our ability to effectively use the
results of forensic science, thereby maximizing its value in our investigations
and prosecutions.
I want to start by thanking the U.S. Department of State’s
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, or INL. On behalf of the Department of Justice’s
Criminal Division, we greatly appreciate the commitment from Assistant
Secretary of State Kirsten Madison, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Walsh,
and INL Director Tobin Bradley for supporting this event and having the vision,
along with our Mexican counterparts, to invest in forensic science as part of
the Merida Initiative. Without support
from INL, this week’s symposium – as well as the great progress we have made
and will continue to make – would not be possible.
I also am proud to recognize our Mexican colleagues for
their extraordinary collaboration in these efforts. These critical and dedicated esteemed
partners include:
- Maestro David Zepeda Jones, the Director of Forensic Engineering for the PGR;
- Maestro Carlos Zamarripa Aguire, the Guanajuato State Attorney General. Guanajuato State is the Mexican State with the most sites accredited by the International Organization for Standardization; and
- Maestro Álvaro Vizcaíno Zamora, the Executive Secretary for the National Public Safety System. Executive Secretary Vizcaíno Zamora has helped secure federal money annually for forensic services within the States.
Just as in the United States, state laboratories in Mexico
are crucial partners in national efforts to investigate and prosecute violent
crime. The U.S. Department of Justice is
proud to join in supporting initiatives to enhance those laboratories as we
work toward more laboratories receiving international accreditation.
That support for forensic science starts at the very top of
the U.S. Department of Justice. Our
Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, is an ardent supporter of the important
contributions of forensic science to our law enforcement mission. And he has been one for a long time. Before becoming Attorney General, Jeff
Sessions served in the U.S. Senate, where in 2000 he was the lead sponsor of
the initial National Forensic Science Improvement Act. That statute provides grants for agencies
throughout the United States to improve the quality, timeliness, and
credibility of forensic science, including by supporting the implementation of
emerging technologies.
The results we have seen in the United States have been
extraordinary and have truly furthered the interests of justice. Our dedicated forensic scientists are solving
previously unsolved crimes. They are
helping to exonerate the innocent.
In fact, as a result of our success in using and promoting
forensic science – and probably also thanks to the widespread and sometimes
fictional depiction of advanced forensic techniques in our television shows and
movies – forensic evidence is often expected to be used in our criminal trials.
As a former line federal prosecutor myself, I know the value
for prosecutors to have admissible and reliable forensic evidence to support
their cases in court. The reason is
simple. When preserved and analyzed
properly, forensic evidence presented in court by expert testimony can be among
the most powerful evidence of guilt. And
when the analysis is conducted properly and ethically, the testimony relaying
those expert conclusions often is unimpeachable.
But like any profession, there is always room for
improvement in forensic science.
Approximately 10 years ago, the Department of Justice, at the request of
our Congress, funded a review of forensic science in the United States. This directive resulted in an independent
report by the National Academy of Sciences that made several recommendations,
including that all forensic laboratories be internationally accredited. The report also identified important concepts
that needed to be better addressed, such as confirmation bias.
The Department of Justice, for example, constantly
self-assesses how we can improve our use of forensic evidence. Last year, Attorney General Sessions
appointed a senior advisor to review U.S. practices and advise the Department
on how we can better enhance the forensic science profession.
The Department of Justice’s work to develop guidance
documents for the testimony and reports of forensic experts – known as “Uniform
Language for Testimony and Reports” – is a prime example of our efforts to
improve the use of forensic science in prosecutions and assist the forensic
expert community. In connection with
that work, the Department of Justice recently published eight uniform language
documents, which are available on the Department’s website. These documents strive to ensure that the
terminology used to describe and communicate our forensic findings meet the
highest scientific and ethical standards.
It also is critically important that we undertake to perform
the forensic analysis as efficiently as practicable. At the risk of stating the obvious, to take
full advantage of the immense investigative value of forensic evidence, the
analysis must be completed and made available to investigators and prosecutors
in a timely manner.
We cannot let forensic analysis become a bottleneck to the
investigative process. Delays in
conducting forensic analysis can allow dangerous criminals to continue to roam
our streets without detection. It can
lead to more victims of their crimes. It
can allow criminals to have time to flee and escape justice. It delays justice to victims of crime. And, perhaps most troubling of all, delays in
performing forensic analysis can put prosecutors in a position where they are
precluded from using the evidence at trial.
Crime victims deserve better. The citizens of our countries deserve
better. We must work to clear backlogs
at laboratories, and efficiently exploit forensic evidence, so we can prosecute
criminal activity without undue delay and stop further crimes. And given the powerful evidentiary force of
forensic evidence, the results of forensic analysis also often lead to faster
dispositions of cases, which then frees up our limited law enforcement
resources to move on to other criminal threats.
I want to take a couple of minutes to highlight and applaud
the important advancements that have been made here in Mexico and elsewhere in
Latin America. First, I want to
congratulate the forensic laboratories that have been accredited already across
eight States in Mexico and the federal PGR.
This is a monumental and historic achievement, and everyone involved
should be proud of your accomplishments.
I want to give special recognition to the State of Puebla. Puebla is the first Mexican State with a laboratory
fully accredited in the six core forensic disciplines.
I also want to commend the many laboratories that are making
strong progress toward accreditation and are moving toward excellence in this
space – including those represented today from the Caribbean, Central America,
and South America. And I give special
recognition to Costa Rica, which has accredited the forensic disciplines of
Chemistry and Genetics. I am confident
that your tireless efforts will pay great dividends in your countries, by
having a real impact on investigating and deterring crime.
For those who have achieved and will achieve successful
accreditation, keep in mind the tremendous value of sharing your experiences
with your international colleagues. I am
pleased to learn that this already has been occurring, with newly accredited
laboratories emerging as leaders in the region by hosting delegations from
other countries and sharing their experiences.
We all benefit from such exchanges, because, in the end, we
are part of a larger team – one that aspires to combat transnational crime,
seek justice for crime victims, and protect our citizens. Today, with the prevalence and constant
emergence of transnational criminal organizations, and with the pursuit of
justice frequently extending beyond borders, the need for that collaboration is
greater than ever. We will need to
continue to rely on our strong and willing international partners, many of whom
are in this room today.
Accreditation of forensic laboratories is a vital tool in
our investigative efforts – whether it be dismantling international drug
cartels that unleash deadly poisons like heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl on our
communities, or searching for missing victims of violent crimes. Accreditation helps ensure that forensic
analysis can be used in these cross-border investigations, by conferring
international credibility and evoking trust from our courts.
Part and parcel with accreditation is supporting and
providing guidance to the forensic scientists who will be expert witnesses at
trial. After all, it is usually the
testimony of the forensic expert him or herself, and not just their report,
that is evaluated and scrutinized during a criminal trial. I am pleased that INL and the Department of
Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, or
ICITAP, are providing important training in this critical area as well.
Before I conclude, I want to share one example that I am
familiar with from my position at the Department of Justice that underscores
the value of both forensic analysis and international cooperation. On May 2, 2015, Mexican police found a car
with Texas licenses plates off the side of the road in the resort town of
Rosarito in Baja California, Mexico. In
that car, surrounded by pools of blood, was the dead body of an American
citizen. He had been stabbed 24 times,
with his throat slashed to the point of near decapitation. The murderer was the victim’s boyfriend, and
he committed this heinous murder in an effort to inherit the victim’s estate.
The killer was charged in the United States, and went to
trial in May 2017 in a federal court in San Diego, California. As part of our evidence presented to the
jury, the prosecutors called as a witness the crime scene investigator from
Baja California. She provided extremely
important testimony, and was a great ambassador for the Mexican forensic
community. In fact, the U.S. prosecutor
who tried the case specifically commended the crime scene investigator for her excellent
work. Thanks to her valuable court
testimony and other evidence, the jury found the defendant guilty of committing
this despicable and gruesome murder and, in December, he was sentenced to life
in prison.
This is but one example.
The importance of forensic evidence in criminal trials is demonstrated
on a daily basis in courtrooms in the United States, Mexico, and across Latin
America. I applaud your commitment to
promoting the quality and reliability of forensic evidence – a commitment that
is needed to ensure justice is served. Our citizens – those who we are sworn to
protect – deserve nothing less.
In closing, I thank you for inviting me to be here with you
today. Once again, I commend our U.S.
Embassy partners and our Mexican counterparts here and across the country on your
significant accomplishments to date, and I wish you all the best in your
continued strides toward regional excellence in forensic science.
I encourage you over the next few days to take advantage of
this symposium to not only learn from the presenters, but also to meet others
in your field and to learn from one another.
Share ideas, identify and discuss best practices, forge
relationships. Working together, we will
only strengthen our collective efforts.
And lastly, thank you to those who worked so hard to
organize this week’s symposium. Putting
together an event like this is a colossal undertaking. Well done.
And now, I will ask us all to stand to officially open the
symposium. It is now 10:15 a.m on
Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, and I formally declare the Second Annual International
Science Symposium open.
Thank you, and welcome to all.
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