Forensic supplies land in Ukraine

Forensic supplies donated by the UK forensic community have arrived at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs.

The supplies and equipment, worth tens of thousands of pounds, were donated by police forces and service providers across the UK. It includes SLR cameras, copy stands, multi-spectral forensic lamps, electronic scales, heat sealers, laboratory utensils, kits for removing various types of traces from the crime scene and other supplies.

FCN’s Jo Morrissey co-ordinated the project, along with Alexey Serdyuk from the University and the Ukrainian Embassy in London. She said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who was so generous in donating equipment, as well as everyone who helped facilitate the collection and delivery. It’s going to have a significant impact on the delivery of forensic training and investigation in Ukraine.”

Some of the kit will be used at the University for training, with the remainder being transferred to the National Police service and experts in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use in criminal investigations.

Dr Alexey Serdyuk, Head of Research Lab for Psychological Support of Law Enforcement at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs said:

“The ongoing state of war is putting our resources under intense demand, so we are very grateful to our British colleagues for their assistance and support.”

Donors included five forces from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, four forces from South West Forensics, Dyfed Powys Police, and the NPCC Transforming Forensics programme. The donation was also coordinated with the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Further donations are very welcome. Please get in touch with Jo Morrissey if you’d like to help.