A forensic laboratory for use by police to resolve complex crimes is almost complete.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said the facility that has been under construction for decades is 98 per cent complete.

Its inauguration will be in weeks but it would take longer to equip it to help detectives solve criminal cases such as murder, robbery with violence, rape.

“It is 98% complete and will be concluded in the next few weeks,” he said when he visited the facility on Friday.

Many crimes have not been resolved because police lack a laboratory to facilitate investigations.

The service relies on foreign laboratories to conduct tests on evidence. For instance, toxicological tests are done either in South Africa or in Europe.

The laboratory is based at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.

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According to a strategic plan launched recently, the DCI plans to spend Sh7.6 billion on the forensic laboratory.  The money is part of the Sh38.5 billion the inspectorate plans to spend to revamp its operations in the next three years.

The inspectorate plans to spend Sh14.2 million in training and developing specialised investigative capacity, Sh1.6 billion in completion of the construction of the forensic laboratory, Sh4 billion in equipping it and Sh2 billion in devolving forensic services to counties and sub counties in the period.

This will among others see  the number of officers raised from the current 5,436 to 10,500 as the spy agency seeks to expand its services to all counties.
 

In its new 2015-2020 Strategic plan launched in Nairobi the spy agency says it shall focus on building institutional capacity, strengthening crime management, improving local and international cooperation and establishing robust processes and systems.