Anti-poaching squad gets new skills

THE US government conducted a hands-on Wildlife Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Course at the Police Academy in Dar es Salaam between December 5 and 8 to provide enhanced skills to target and disrupt wildlife poaching and trafficking networks in the country.
 
The US Embassy said in a statement in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the training was conducted by the US government through its two bodies- -the Agencies for International Development (USAID) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Office of Law Enforcement.

The trainees included members of the Government of Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU), Tanzania Police Force and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Others were investigators from the Wildlife Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and wildlife management officials. Based on standard crime scene investigation practices, the course taught participants on how to approach the wildlife crime scene and collect evidences, maintain the chain of custody and documentation, among other areas.

In addition, the US Government donated ten crime scene evidence collection kits to the agencies participating to the course, with each kit containing a camera, DNA sample collection kits, evidence sealing bags, chain of custody forms and seizure evidence tags, the statement said.

The Wildlife CSI Course represents one part of a larger and comprehensive USG wildlife anti-trafficking initiative.

The course, which was also conducted in Uganda between November 28 and December 2, was developed after the US Department of Interior’s International Technical Assistance Programme conducted a wildlife trafficking assessment in 2015 and identified the need to institute crime scene management practices in East Africa.

The non-governmental organisation PAMS Foundation assisted with implementation of the project on the ground, and previously funded the same course, along with FWS, in May 2016.