Crime Chief Milton Desir
Crime Chief Milton Desir has expressed confidence that more homicides could be solved this year.
Desir made this disclosure at a press conference on Thursday at the Police Headquarters in Castries, during which crime statistics for the period of January to September were released.
The crime chief who assumed office in April of this year, said the country has recorded 24 homicides, 11 of which have been solved.
For the solved cases, persons were formally charged and are now before the courts.
Desir said there are other cases that have been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for further advice, which he believes could lead to prosecution.
He also acknowledged the assistance of members of the public, who have come forward to assist the police with their investigations into these homicides.
However, Desir had said in August of this year that the closure of the forensic lab at Tapion has affected the ability of the Police Force to move forward with a number of serious crimes.
Desir said that his unit would have sent samples to be tested, but because of the closure of the lab, they have not been able to make headway with some of the cases, including the Oliver Gobat murder.
The lab was reportedly short on material to conduct forensic tests, which initially caused operations to slow down at the facility. It was later shut down and remains closed for over five months.
Nevertheless, Desir said the police will continue to work hard to ensure that more of these cases are solved.
(0)
(0)