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Jodi Lundmark, tbnewswatch.com
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci and OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino toured the new Thunder Bay Forensic Identification Unit.
The Thunder Bay Police Service and local OPP detachment have always had a unique co-operative relationship and Friday afternoon the two law enforcement organizations celebrated another joint effort with the grand opening of the Thunder Bay Forensic Identification Unit.
The 13,500-square-foot building on James Street next to the Northwest OPP headquarters houses the latest technology that will assist police in their investigations.
The facility includes a biohazard and chemical laboratory and blood spatter examination room, modern fingerprinting technologies and a specialized heating, ventilation and air condition system to reduce the risk of people being exposed to harmful chemicals.
Thunder Bay Police Services’ deputy chief J.P. Levesque said the forensic identification unit is another example of efficiency and effectiveness in policing between the local police and the OPP.
"This take it a new level where we’re actually sharing a facility," he said. "It’s the first time in the province such an endeavour is happening."
While the Thunder Bay Police had a forensic unit at their Balmoral Street station, the benefit of the new facility is the state-of-the-art equipment.
"What it allows for is timeliness. It allows for the risk of cross-contamination of exhibits from crimes scenes (to be) lessened greatly because of the state-of-the-art facilities," Levesque said. "That’s a big thing with us when you’re investigating major crimes."
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci was on hand for the grand opening and said the people of Northwestern Ontario should be very proud of the forensic identification unit.
"We’re going to be able to provide forensic opportunities to both police services that are, I would think, second to none and be able to co-ordinate, be able to investigate and be able to prosecute the criminal element," he said.
The minister added the high-tech nature of the labs within the facility will be key to police investigations in a time when criminals are becoming more sophisticated.
"We have to continue to become more sophisticated than the criminal element so we can tell the criminal element in a very real and profound way that crime isn’t wanted in Northwestern Ontario," Bartolucci said.
The Thunder Bay Forensic Identification Unit is one of 13 similar units being built in the province for the OPP.
Bartolucci said it is part of the modernization of the OPP.