On 27 January, the Cooperation Committee of the European Economic Area (EEA) grant programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime” held a meeting to discuss strengthening law enforcement capacity, including the introduction of 3D scanning in crime scene investigation.
This year Latvian forensic experts will be trained in Latvia and Norway in 3D scanning of crime scenes, thus strengthening cooperation between Latvian and Norwegian law enforcement authorities in the field of forensic examinations and improving the quality of the pre-trial investigation process in Latvia.
Three-dimensional or 3D scanning is an efficient and modern method for reconstructing or visualizing all types of scenes (crimes, accidents, fires, etc.), both indoors and outdoors. This method can record event sites with high precision and the resulting 3D scans can be used as a visual aid, for example during police investigations and legal proceedings.
International practice proves that three-dimensional visualizations can also be used to gain insights into domestic violence and partner abuse. The resulting 3D scan allows all the possible distances and objects to be accurately measured. This is particularly useful in cases where victims are unable to testify, such as babies or young children. Therefore, this innovative method will be of great importance for Latvia in investigating and presenting particularly complex crime scenes to the courts.
Although the use of 3D scanning equipment at the disposal of the State Police and other authorities is already being mastered, it will be possible to start using this method more comprehensively in Latvia after the completion of the international training in 2023.
State Secretary D. Trofimovs: The Ministry of the Interior, together with the Ministry of Justice, as part of the grant programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime” have developed a comprehensive and inter-institutional project for the modernization of the Latvian forensic system, which is part of a broader effort to implement reforms in this area to strengthen the capacity of Latvian law enforcement agencies for a secure Latvia and Europe!”
During the meeting, other cooperation initiatives between Latvian and Norwegian institutions within the framework of the programme Fund for Bilateral Relations were also discussed. Several initiatives in total sum of 100 000 euros have already been approved for additional cooperation of programme project promoters – the Ministry of Welfare, the State Police, the State Revenue Service and the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau – with Norwegian and Icelandic authorities, which is planned to start this year.
The programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime” receives 85% of its grant or 17 278 000 euros from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under EEA Grants to strengthen the capacity of institutions in preventing and combating economic crime in Latvia, as well as to improve cooperation between institutions working with children who have been victims or witnessed of violence. The total funding of the programme is 20 327 059 euros, complemented by a grant of 271 000 euros from the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Bilateral Relations.
The meeting of the Cooperation Committee was attended by representatives of the EEA Grant Programme Operator the Ministry of the Interior, the international programme partner the Council of Europe, the Programme Donor Countries, the Financial Mechanism Office and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Latvia, as well as programme upcoming project “Strengthening of the capacity of forensic system and inspection of the site of the event” promoter representatives from the Ministry of Justice and its Donor country project partner the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service.