Swearing in of the National Director and Staff of the Timor-Leste Police Scientific Criminal Investigation (PCIC)
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, February 2, 2015
Swearing in of the National Director and Staff of the Timor-Leste Police Scientific Criminal Investigation (PCIC)
Last week an important achievement was celebrated that will support police investigations into criminal activity and strengthen the administration of justice to serve the citizens of Timor-Leste.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, the National Director, 47 Researchers and 31 Experts, were sworn in to their roles as a part of the new Police Scientific Criminal Investigation [PCIC]. Heading up the unit is National Director Hermenegildo Gonçalves da Cruz.
The Prime Minister noted “the fight against new forms of serious organized crime requires cooperation, unity of action and commitment to the common good”, pledging that the Government and PCIC “will work together to ensure all necessary assistance is given for criminal investigation.”
At the national level the PCIC will work cooperatively with other entities undertaking criminal investigation such as the National Police Force [PNTL], the Anti Corruption Commission and the Migration Service. Internationally the PCIC will work with INTERPOL and other Agencies to combat transnational crime.
In 2009 the process to establish the PCIC began with a bilateral cooperation agreement between the Justice Ministries of Timor-Leste and Portugal. In May last year Decree Law n. 15/2014 was passed, officially creating this criminal police unit.
The training of personnel for their new positions has been comprehensive, with most undertaking eight months of tuition in Portugal at institutions including the Academy of the Judicial Police, the Forensic Science Laboratory of Portugal and the Institute of Legal Medicine of Coimbra, followed by a two year internship in Timor-Leste.
Their program of training, funded by the European Union, was implemented with the support Portugal through Camões Institute of Cooperation and Language. At this ceremony the National Director of the Portuguese Judiciary Police, José Maria Almeida Rodrigues and the Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory of Portugal, Carlos Farinha, were honored guests.
At the swearing in ceremony the Prime Minister and Minister of Security and Defense, H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, as responsible for the PNTL, and the Minister of Justice, H.E. Dionisio Babo Soares, as responsible for the PCIC, signed a cooperation protocol on information, facility and resources sharing.
As a result of coordinated efforts over several years Timor-Leste now has a Police Scientific Criminal Investigation, independent and structured, provided with highly specialized staff, technically well equipped, and with the support of a forensic laboratory, focused exclusively on criminal investigation.
