Filenews 3 April 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
What is a mouflon hair looking for in the police offices? Or a piece of glass or a drop of blood? To us, all this seems insignificant or even strange, but for the experts, it may be the key to solving a serious crime that afflicts Cypriot society. When at the cottage in Amiantos, police experts had found traces of blood on the stairs of the basement that did not appear to the naked eye, no one knew that it was the beginning of the investigation of the double murder of two women of Russian origin. A mouflon hair was enough to connect two suspects with the murder of two mouflons, since they were attached to the hairs in the carcasses of the animals.
The Criminal Investigation Service (YPEGI), or the Cypriot CSI, has nothing to envy from other services abroad, since the means also have experienced staff that contribute to the detection of serious crimes. From a counterfeit note, to a fingerprint, to the location of a weapon, laboratories will provide answers that will send the perpetrators to prison. The experts of the seven laboratories see in the crime scenes what the others do not see, looking for a detail that will help get to the perpetrator. We entered the sanctuaries of the laboratories and saw how the experts enter the mind of an assailant and expose him.
Based at the Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, according to its senior police officer Andreas Tryfonos, is today the main Police Service, which provides scientific support, supporting to a large extent the investigative work and contributing many times decisively to the detection of criminal cases and, by extension, to the administration of Justice before a Court in the Republic of Cyprus. As he notes, the aim of the workshop is to provide an effective and reliable contribution to the administration of Justice through:
- Scientific Examination of Evidence.
- Investigation of scenes of serious crimes and other particular cases in order to gather scientific evidence.
- Provision of scientific evidence before a Court of Justice.
- Maintaining accreditation and implementation of the guidelines of the European Network of Institutes for Forensic Science (ENFSI).
- Objective testimony before a Court.
- Scientific Support and instructions to members of the Police during the investigation of a crime.
The Criminal Research Service is currently located among the Forensic Institutes of European countries that have been accredited according to the International Standard ISO / IEC 17025, in accordance with the instructions and requirements of the European Union (Enfopol 35) and the ENFSI (European Network of Institutes of Forensic Science). According to Mr. Tryfonos, the accreditation of the Laboratories of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change ensures the quality of the work and the reliability of the results in the examination of documents in the Republic of Cyprus as well as among the Member States of the European Union.
The action of the Service, according to Mr. Tryfonos, dates back to 1914, when it initially functioned as an Office of Imprints and Photography. With the passage of years and the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, other specialties were added to this Office, it is reinforced with staff and gradually takes the form it has today. It was previously named Forensic Service, a name it retained until 2003, when it was renamed the Criminal Investigation Service, known as the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.
The Office is a member of the European Organisation for Forensic Services "E.N.F.S.I." (European Network of Forensic Science Institutes) since 2001. The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs consists of seven laboratories: Dactyloscopic [fingerprinting], investigation of crime scenes, examination of weapons, graphology, examination of documents and banknotes, photography and microfiber. In cases where tests are required on parameters not covered by the Service, close cooperation has been established with other laboratories in Cyprus, even abroad, where the documents for the relevant tests are sent (Laboratory of Forensic Genetics of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics for DNA tests, Laboratory of Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology of the General Chemical State Laboratory, Geological Survey Department, Veterinary Services).
In '16 the first conviction due to fingerprints
The Dactyloscopic Laboratory is the forerunner of the current Criminal Investigation Service. Around 1914, as reported by the responsible lieutenant Chrysanthos Triseliotis, the colonial Police created the Office of Imprints and Photographs, whose duties were initially limited to taking fingerprints and photographing convicted persons. Very soon, the Office evolves and its tasks are enriched by examining scenes of crimes. As a result, in 1916, the first conviction of a person was achieved, by identifying the fingerprints of the perpetrator with fingerprints found at the crime scene. The Fingerprint Office is then renamed the Dactyloscopic Laboratory, which is staffed with specialized personnel and has as its main mission the comparison and, by extension, the identification of fingerprints and palmar fingerprints and the presentation of scientific testimony before the Court.
Since June 2008, says Mr. Triseliotis, the Dactyloscopic Laboratory is accredited with the International Standard ISO / IEC 17025, in accordance with the instructions and requirements of the European Union and the European Network of Institutes of Forensic Science, to ensure the quality of the work and reliability of the results in the examination of evidence.
The main tasks and responsibilities of the Dactyloscope are:
• Receipt and registration of dactyloscopic cases from the Provinces.
• Comparison-identification of fingerprints taken from crime scenes or after the processing of police documents, with fingerprints of suspected persons or persons with free movement (residents).
• Receipt and registration of dactyloscopic forms from the Provinces.
• Comparison / identification of fingerprints taken from suspicious persons, with fingerprints (Decimal forms, latent fingerprints) that are archived in the database of the A.S.A.D.A. system (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) as well as in the databases of the states that have implemented the Prum Treaty.
GRAPHOLOGY LABORATORY
The Laboratory of Graphology, which is accredited with the quality standard ISO 17025 since the year 2006, is staffed with appropriately trained and experienced staff, which carries out graphological examinations on documents, mainly handwritten documents and offers scientific testimony before the Courts, thus contributing to the detection of criminal cases. For this purpose, according to its manager, George Chrysanthou, the Laboratory is equipped with specialized technological equipment, such as microscopes, high-resolution cameras. As he explained, the writing is like the imprint, it cannot be copied. Common offences that are being investigated involve forgery of proxies for real estate, cheques, degrees, etc. Even notes for suicide are examined to see if they belong to the autochthonous.
Laboratory Responsibilities:
• Examination of handwritten documents, the identity of which is disputed by the person who wrote or signed.
• Reappearance of erased writing that was deleted or covered with a corrective fluid.
• Ink separation.
• Display writing on a document, which is not visible to the naked eye (writing imprint) using the special ESDA device.
• Participation of the members of the Laboratory in the conferences and working groups of the European Agency for Forensic Sciences (ENFSI).
When the scene of a crime "speaks"
The range of tasks of the Laboratory for the Investigation of Crime Scene and the Appearance of Imprints, which is accredited with the ISO 17025 quality standard since 2010, is divided, according to its responsible lieutenant Michalis Savvas, into two areas:
A) Visit and investigation of particularly serious scenes of crimes as well as the participation of an examination of large and serious incidents taking place on the territory of the Republic, in cooperation with other government agencies.
It includes assistance in the examination of such scenes of crimes and serious incidents that take place in areas not controlled by the C.R., such as areas of the British Bases and a buffer zone, which is controlled by the United Nations force.
The members of the workshop, when they are in a tent, wearing their special uniforms, try to locate a presumption that will provide the solution of the mystery. We seek the identification of objects, documents visible and not, where with the use of appropriate specialized equipment and materials, by the experienced members of the Laboratory, who proceed to the evaluation, marking, specialized photography and receipt, after receiving proper and appropriate packaging. The aim is further laboratory scientific examination of the evidence, which will scientifically prove the identity of any person.
B) Receipt and laboratory dactyloscopic examination of any object, aiming at the appearance of imprints, not visible to the naked eye.
Document authenticity testing laboratory
The Laboratory for the Examination of Documents and Banknotes carries out laboratory examinations of documents, using state-of-the-art equipment and standard procedures, based on ISO 17025. The main responsibilities of the Laboratory, according to the head of the Lieutenant Kristi Christofides, are summarized in the following:
1. Examination of banknotes for the purpose of verifying their authenticity, as the National Centre for the Analysis of Euro Banknotes and the Central Counterfeiting Office.
2. Examination of travel and other identity documents for the purpose of establishing their authenticity. Indicatively, the following are mentioned:
> Passports and other travel documents
> Identity cards and other identity documents
> Driving licences and other vehicle documents
> Residence Permits
> 'Schengen' visas, etc.
3. Examination of printed documents, texts, etc., for the purpose of determining the printing medium used for their reproduction.
4. Examination of disputed imprints of seals (ink, embossed) for the purpose of establishing their authenticity.
From this Office pass all documents for which their authenticity is questioned, such as passports, identity cards, degrees and even scratch cards. As Mrs. Christofides mentions, there is currently an increase in fake driving licenses from foreigners as well as passport impersonation, that is, they take a genuine one and change the photo. Also in the counterfeiting of banknotes, they are found from photocopies to good quality copies, but the original banknotes have so many safeguards that they are difficult to copy.
From the photos begins the tracing
A picture of a thousand words, say the Chinese. The photography lab provides many solutions to difficult cases, from violence in stadiums to murders. A video or photo can solve a difficult case.
When the five-fold murder took place in Ayia Napa, it was the photography lab that gave the direction to identify the perpetrators. As the head of the laboratory, Sotiris Pavlidis, explains, a vehicle was recorded in a video. It was found that of the same type and color there were 24 in all of Cyprus. However, the photo showed that there was a feature in the vehicle that distinguished it from the rest. Eventually he was identified and along with the perpetrators.
Also, in the incidents in the band DIAS, the photos showed a person vandalizing. The tests showed that this person had a tattoo on the leg. Tests were carried out and it was found that this person had changed his tattoo immediately after the incidents, but he was eventually identified and arrested. In another case, a photo of a police officer who brought him to make an obscene gesture was posted on social media. An investigation was ordered and the examinations of the photo showed that it was the product of a montage.
In the photography workshop, the sketches of suspicious persons are also prepared. Depending on the description given by eyewitnesses, the success of a sketch also depends. The most important success concerns the perpetrator of the kidnapping of two students in Larnaca. The sketch helped identify the suspect, who was arrested and convicted.
The main responsibilities of the Laboratory are summarized as follows:
> Photographing and/or videotaping scenes of crimes, evidence in tents or in the Laboratory, or any other police activity.
> Forensic analysis and processing of Closed Circuit Monitoring (C.C.TV) which includes:
- Copy/export data from DVR
- Convert CCTV image data to simple playback format
- Image enhancement (video or photo)
> Forensic Digital Image Processing / Image and Video Authenticity Check
> Electronic preparation of sketches
>>>The guns have their own code
Each weapon has its own imprint and when a fireball leaves it only with a weapon can be connected. With this in mind, the specialists of the Weapons Examination Laboratory can with specialized machines identify a weapon with a fireball.
Many crimes were solved on the basis of ballistic examination, while at the same time, a shoe tread, or a rubber imprint, can be fatal for a criminal. The special police laboratory has the means to identify a suspect based on the imprint of his shoe. According to its manager, Lieutenant Nikos Nikolaou, the Laboratory for the Examination of Weapons, Ammunition, Traces of Tools - Coins and Prints, which is accredited with the quality standard ISO 17025, carries out examinations in the following subjects:
• Identification of firearms and ammunition to determine whether a calyx or fireball has been shot by a specific weapon.
• Examination of traces of tools on various surfaces and objects, to determine the tool that caused them.
• Examinations of shoe and vehicle tires, to determine whether they were created from specific shoes or tires.
• Physical consistency tests of various pieces, to determine whether they were part of a single object, which was broken or cut.
• Examinations of euro coins to verify their authenticity.
>>>And the smallest trace has its significance
The microfix laboratory is literally engaged in... Nonsense. It examines a hair whether it belongs to an animal or a human, or whether a piece of glass comes from a specific vehicle, window or whatever. As its manager, specialized police officer Maria Eleni Eleftheriou, says, the laboratory, accredited with a quality standard ISO 17025 since 2006, performs laboratory tests of the following documents / microfiches, using modern equipment and standard procedures:
• Fibres, paint shavings, glass fragments, plastics, ink, other microfiche.
It is also possible to separate human / animal hair by microscopic examination. In the case of animal hair, an animal is identified from which it comes (e.g. hare, dog, cat, mouflon). A distinction is also made between human and animal blood. When we visited the laboratory, under the microscope lay a cotton swab. The mouflon hair has special characteristics and was identified with others related to a case under investigation for illegal murder of this protected animal of Cyprus.
In the laboratory, the factory initial numbers of chassis and engine of motor vehicles, as well as numbers, are reappeared on metal surfaces. As explained by the person in charge, many erase the chassis number of their vehicle in order not to appear to be stolen property or to cover its tracks in case it was used in a criminal act. The laboratory can reset this number and identify the owner with the vehicle.
• Apart from the laboratories, there is also the Office for the Transmission of Documents, where all the documents intended for scientific examinations are electronically recorded.
