By Deanna Harris
New Zealand will soon have the world’s first nationwide network of forensically-trained animal inspectors.
SPCA’s national chief executive Robyn Kippenberger says more offenders will be brought to justice when the SPCA inspectors are fully trained in crime scene investigation (CSI) techniques.
“SPCA inspectors have already put their CSI skills to good use in some recent prosecutions. As their skills and experience grow, it should become progressively harder to mistreat animals and get away with it.”
Over the weekend 25 inspectors from across New Zealand took part in a CSI training session and crime scene grave excavation, under the guidance of leading US Forensic Entomologist and CSI expert, Dr Jason H Byrd.
Dr Byrd is Educational Programme Inspector at the University of Florida’s William R Maples Centre for Forensic Medicine. He also teaches at the university, which is widely recognised as America’s most prominent institution for developing and teaching animal forensics.
“Proving that a crime has taken place and establishing the identity of the perpetrator is typically even harder when the victim is an animal rather than a human,” says Ms Kippenberger.
She says the CSI techniques are making a substantial difference to detection and conviction rates in some parts of the US where they have been consistently applied.
“New Zealand animal welfare inspectors have now become part of a fortunate few outside the US to have benefited from such training. As a result, we’re now well on our way to having the world’s first nationwide network of animal CSI investigators.”
Part of this weekend’s training involved disinterring eight dead dogs and cats, buried at a site near Ohakune four months ago, in preparation for the crime scene workshop.
The inspectors learned how to secure the site, check for and secure potential forensic evidence and then dig up the bodies in a way that did not substantially impair them or compromise their value as evidence admissible in court.
Another focus of the weekend was the protocol of forensic investigation that inspectors need to comply with, to ensure their findings are comprehensive and meet the required level of proof.
3 News