The Advanced Technology Section of the Identification Bureau (ATS IB) has been awarded the ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission) 17025:2005 accreditation by Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) in July.

Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Chung Siu-yeung received the Accreditation Certificate from Executive Administrator of HKAS Mr Wong Wang-wah in a certificate presentation ceremony on September 21. Mr Chung praised IB officers for their devotion to excel over the years. Striving for continuous improvement with the provision of rigorous, reliable and efficient fingerprint examination services, the accreditation is a solid proof of their professionalism.

Being the sole forensic fingerprint laboratory in Hong Kong, ATS IB specialises in developing fingerprint traces on exhibits by chemical and other scientific means. It has acquired the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation on various latent fingerprint recovery techniques and established its professional status in the field of fingerprint examination, thereby reinforcing the credibility and reliability of examination results.

Senior Superintendent of IB Leung Chi-tim said that IB acquired the ISO accreditation after it has fulfilled all the requirements of HKAS and the international accreditation criteria through regular proficiency testing and audit inspection by HKAS representatives and overseas fingerprint experts.

The IB has always been committed to supporting frontline officers in their investigation and detection of crimes by revealing the identities of culprits through different forensic projects. Last year, the ATS IB and the Government Laboratory jointly carried out a feasibility study on the effectiveness of extracting DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from the latent fingerprint after fingerprint examination, with encouraging results. Further studies have to be conducted on the application of such technique. In addition, the Hong Kong Police - Photo Repository, a centralised digital archive for case photographs, is under development. The new system will facilitate frontline officers to manage case information more effectively and exchange criminal intelligence messages when necessary.