Mali: ICITAP-Supported National Police to Expand with Over 2,000 New Recruits in 2020

On September 19, ICITAP completed the fourth iteration of the ICITAP-sponsored Judicial/Police Forensic Seminar (JPFS) titled “Magistrates and the Use of Scientific Evidence.” The five-part JPFS series is designed to increase confidence in Algerian rule of law and build bridges between forensic scientists, law enforcement, and magistrates to successfully apply forensic evidence to prosecute counterterrorism and other cases. The seminar was hosted at the Magistrate Residence, and presentations were made by four forensic scientists from the ISO-accredited Gendarmerie forensic lab on statistics and ratios of probabilities, and how they are used by judges and juries to draw inferences or conclusions in deciding legal matters. The seminar sparked a lot of dialog, broadening the judges’ knowledge and understanding of forensic data. Recognizing the value of this information, the magistrates announced that they would be looking into making legislative changes that would allow for forensic data to hold weight in determining legal matters, as well as the appointment of a forensic advisor to the courts, who would assist in interpreting the technical information. The judges also agreed that the presentations should be incorporated in all new judges’ and prosecutors’ training moving forward, and that any training conducted by the magistrates will include a request for the experts to share their presentations. In Algeria, ICITAP works with the support of and in coordination with the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT).