On June 19-21, 2024, investigators, forensic scientists and experts from forensic expert institutions took part in the workshop “Innovative Forensics in the Time of War” organized by the project of the Council of Europe “Strengthening Law Enforcement in Ukraine during War and the Post-War Period” at the training center of the National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
From the KFI, the presentations at the workshop were made by: Head of the Criminalistics Laboratory, Viktor Kostetskyi, Head of the Department for the Quality and Cost of Road Construction Research, Ihor Chaliuk, Chief Forensic Expert of the Department of Explosive Research and Research on Missile and Artillery Weapons of the Laboratory of Military Research, Serhii Berehovyi, Chief Forensic Experts of the Department of Explosive Research and Research on Missiles and Artillery Weapons, Oleksii Kuzmenko, Chief Forensic Experts of the Department of Explosive Research and Research on Missiles and Artillery Weapons, Oleksandr Vysikan, Leading Researcher of the Psychological Research Laboratory, Tatiana Morozova.
The program of the event focused on advanced techniques and tools for crime scene investigation, aerial forensics, evidence collection and processing, interdisciplinary communication in the context of evidence collection and forensic examinations. The workshop addressed the issues of standards for chronological documentation of the sequence of receipt, control, transfer, analysis, and storage of physical and electronic evidence.
During the event, the participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest forensic equipment, including laboratories for rapid DNA analysis, technical means for reading information from vehicle control modules, unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial photography and 3D modeling, as well as tools for examining the remains and fragments of various types of weapons and transcribing texts. Experienced professionals shared their experience in using polygraphs in criminal cases, examining texts and statements during crime investigations, and identifying individuals and features of mass graves and torture sites.
The trainers, in turn, emphasized that the division into teachers and students was conditional, as the present investigators and forensic scientists are highly qualified specialists in their field. Practical work was conducted through the exchange of experience, where each professional made a unique contribution to the overall understanding of the challenges facing forensic scientists in war and the development of practical skills of the participants.
