They propose a reform of legal medicine: what will change and why

Among the changes that have been proposed for the various control subjects in the country is General Prosecutor’s Office is one of those that could have the most changes, at least in the medium term it could “lose” one of the most important dependencies in terms of research, we are talking about National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensics. Bill to be introduced today A historic pactintends the subject to focus on the search and clarification of cases of missing persons, about 120 thousand are expected to be in the country, giving reform and renewal of this crime laboratory.

The initiative aims to make the entity independent, in fact it would act as another institution that is part of the judiciary, but with its own legal status, its own assets and autonomy in technical and financial terms. It will even stop being called Legal Medicine to be known as National Scientific and Technical Institute of Forensic Science.

According to Law 938 of 2004in articles 34, 35 and 36 the subject is said to be attached to prosecutionwith intervention at the national level, but that is exactly what this reform seeks to change, according to the senator of Historic Pact, Gustavo Bolivarallowing you to have more transparency in the processes you perform.

“The Institute of Legal Medicine today is an appendage of the General Prosecutor’s Office, and this does not guarantee transparency and does not guarantee the reliability of the judicial system, because in a country where, unfortunately, corruption and political influence abound, well, we have seen how, by being appointed directly by the prosecutor, at any past or future moment, the director of legal medicine is a person who must guarantee to the party the transparency of judicial investigations, and this can be subject to some kind of manipulation, then, to avoid this, what what we are doing is to create an autonomous entity so that the institute will henceforth be called the National Scientific and Technical Institute of Forensic Science, completely transforming the institute, separating it from the prosecution and serving to form an institute to give guarantees to victims who do not see the speed and the agility in the identification of the bodies, for example in the exhumation of corpses of the missing, etc.,” the senator explained when introducing the the horse project.

Against the last point mentioned Gustavo Bolivarthe bill intends to create an office for the identification of victims of armed conflicts, thereby improving the mechanisms and optimizing the processes in the bodies, even giving him space in the cemeteries themselves to carry out his criminal activity.

The initiative reveals a lack of coverage, as out of 1,122 municipalities in the country, the entity has only about 2,270 employees who barely manage to cover just over 10% of the country’s territory.

The main idea is to optimize victim identification processes. preventing interference from prosecutionrenovation of the plant and facilities, which will partially relieve the judicial and prosecution system, but at the same time give it full autonomy in its sentences and appointments.

The institute currently has a portfolio of more than a dozen professional services, including forensic, psychiatric, psychological, justice and reparations:

“It is important to note that our laboratories also respond to inquiries and provide advice on issues that concern them to the prosecutor’s office, courts and other competent authorities and serve as a body for verification and control of the performed examinations and forensic examinations by the authorities of State judicial police and other agencies at the request of the competent authority”, the entity explains, emphasizing that all this is provided free of charge.

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