How to successfully prosecute CBRN crimes – from the crime scene to the courtroom A series of guidance handbooks funded by the EU
by Talgat Toleubayev, UNICRI’s Regional Coordinator of the CBRN Risk Mitigation and Security Governance Programme
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he development of a series of CBRN Guides is funded by the European Union (EU) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CoE) Initiative. This activity is coordinated by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in close cooperation with relevant international organisations and partners.
Killing or harming is rather cheap Committing a murder through deliberate use of chemical and biological agents is much cheaper than killing someone with a radiological or nuclear material. According to the CBRN experts, it ranges from $1 to $1000 to kill someone with a biological or chemical weapon respectively.1 However, building up the CBRN forensics and investigative capabilities in any country, including prosecution and eventual indictment in court, requires considerable financial resources and substantial efforts from governments, especially from law enforcement authorities. In order to enhance and strengthen the CBRN forensics capabilities of its partner countries, the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative successfully implemented two projects addressing crime scene forensics investigators of CBRN incidents: • Project 57 “Strengthening crime scene forensics capabilities in investigating CBRN incidents in the South East and Eastern Europe (SEEE) Region”. • Project 58 “CBRN Forensics equipment for the SEEE Region”.
The beneficiaries involved in forensic investigation of CBRN incidents, mainly consisting of police, investigators and forensics experts, requested that additional international guidance documents be produced, developed with relevant CBRN subject matter experts with a focus on the CBRN crime scene and from the crime scene to the courtroom.
Managing the CBRN crime scene The deliberate use of chemical and biological agents is not always related to killing or physically harming someone, but instead may lead to negative consequences in terms of environmental contamination and pollution. Illicit trafficking and dumping of chemical waste and other hazardous and dangerous toxic materials have now changed the traditional crime scene which has expanded to encompass the nature and specific environments. The investigative process and the subsequent prosecution are becoming even more challenging, especially if the crime scene is contaminated with CBRN materials. Forensics experts need to treat the CBRN crime scene with additional precautionary measures by respecting all relevant procedures in order to operate safely in the contaminated environment while preserving the evidence intact. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and different national rules, policies and regulations help the forensics and law enforcement officers to properly carry out their duties in a CBRN contaminated environment. Therefore, complementary guidance tools in the field of crime scene management were issued by relevant international organisations. For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Nuclear Security Series No. 22G, Implementing Guidance on Radiological Crime Scene Management, outlines
SCOTT P. LAYNE and TONY J. BEUGELSDIJK. High-Throughput Laboratories for Homeland and National Security, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: 123 n.2 (2003)
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photo: UNICRI
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