British ambassador checks assistance to Albanian police forces

TIRANA, Feb. 8 – British Ambassador Fraser Wilson accompanied by Deputy Interior Minister Gjergj Lezhja visited the Albanian Scientific Police Laboratory on Thursday to inspect a new DNA “Clean Room” donated and installed by the British Government. That is the latest stage of a ten-year programme of British Government assistance, which has developed the capability of the Scientific Police to detect crime through science. The current phase is the first step towards introducing DNA profiling technology to the laboratory. The Albanian Police has received significant equipment and training in modern forensic science techniques from the UK, and as a direct result the central laboratory in Tirana now regularly provides expert evidence from fingerprints, ballistics, forged documents and drugs analysis, as well as specialized biological evidence. The British Embassy in Tirana has a wide programme of assistance to the Albanian Law Enforcement authorities, of which the work with the Scientific Police is one part. Today’s ceremony was also attended by experts from Essex Police in the UK, who have been implementing projects with the Scientific Police, on behalf of the British Government, since 1997.