BOMCA continues deepening knowledge of Border Guard and Law Enforcement Agencies of Turkmenistan on modern evidence collection methods

From August 2-4, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia held a workshop in Ashgabat for the personnel of Investigation Units of the Border Guard and Law Enforcement Agencies of Turkmenistan. The workshop familiarised forensic experts with modern evidence collection methods including first responders’ responsibilities and actions avoiding the contamination of crime scenes. This is the second workshop of its kind conducted by the BOMCA Programme in the Central Asian region, following similar activity implemented in July of this year in Uzbekistan.

The expert team, represented by the Lithuanian Police Forensic Science Centre and Forensic Examination Unit of Siauliai Police Headquarters, introduced the principles of evidence collection, including DNA collection, which allows police officers to obtain sensitive and private information on a person without any precursor level of suspicion and without showing that the data collected is tied to a specific crime. The experts also facilitated discussion on cooperation between the investigator and forensic experts, as well as methods for ensuring the transparency and credibility of evidence and jointly with participants compared standards within national legal systems in European Union Member States and in Turkmenistan on evidence collection and the submitting of evidence.

In the framework of the workshop recommendations were provided on amendments to legislation, as well as carrying out forensic expert tools requirement analysis.

About BOMCA

The Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA), funded by the European Union (EU), aims to enhance security, stability and sustainable growth in the region, while supporting cross-border cooperation and improving living conditions for people in the border areas of Central Asia. Since its implementation in 2003, BOMCA has played a leading role in strengthening cooperation between border control authorities through the application of the concept of integrated border management, as well as in bringing border control in line with international and EU standards.

BOMCA’s tenth phase, launched in April 2021, covers four areas: institutional development of border management agencies, improvement of detection capacities, trade facilitation, and improvement of cross-border cooperation. With a budget of EUR 21.65 million and an implementation period of 4.5 years, BOMCA 10 is the largest regional initiative in the field. It is implemented by a consortium of border management institutions of selected EU member states and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development led by the State Border Guard for the Republic of Latvia.

For additional information on BOMCA 10 please contact Rustam Berdiyev, BOMCA 10 National Coordinator in Turkmenistan, at: +993 61 066 707, Rustam.Berdiyev@icmpd.org