Participants and speakers at the seminar in Tanger Morocco
From 12 to 14 November 2019 the IRZ, in cooperation with the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), organised a three-day seminar in Tanger on “Management of prison staff by the DGAPR”. The seminar is part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco on Prison Management” project, which is being coordinated by the IRZ between 2017 and December 2020.
The objective of the seminar was to improve HR development and staff management in prisons by teaching modern management methods and by incentive and upgrading systems for prison officers. A seminar in this project component was already held in April this year in Fez.
The IRZ experts attending this event again were Nadine Franasik, Head of health-oriented personnel management at the young offenders’ institution in Berlin, and Kathrin Braun, representing the Berlin Senate Administration for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination. The representatives of the DGAPR presented the latest developments in the field of HR management in Morocco.
During the seminar, a lively exchange of experiences took place with animated discussions on the following issues:
Implementation of international standards in the training of prison staff
Recruitment criteria and job profiles for qualified staff (amongst them psychologists and social workers)
Professional risks for people working in prisons
HR development and management in prisons
Good governance in health management – supporting benefits for prison staff and prisoners
HR marketing and “workplace prison” image campaign
The successful cooperation on this component will be continued next year. As a final result, the IRZ will develop recommendations for modern methods of staff management in prisons together with the Moroccan partners.
Participants with the speakers at the seminar in Tangier Morocco
On 7 and 8 November 2019, the IRZ, in partnership with the Moroccan Public Prosecutor’s Office, organised an “Introduction to toxicology” seminar in Tangier as the last part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of legal and forensic medicine, with particular consideration paid to the concerns of the Moroccan justice system” project. The IRZ has been coordinating this project between 2017 and the end of this year as part of the project financed by the German Foreign Office (Transformation Partnerships with Northern Africa/the Middle East).
The objective of the seminar was to teach the Moroccan participants about the possibilities of toxicology as part of their investigation work. Around 30 public prosecutors, judges and forensic scientists took part in the event, learning about the basics of work in toxicology laboratories.
The expert taking part on behalf of the IRZ was private lecturer Dr. Sven Hartwig, Senior Physician and Head of the Department of Forensic Toxicology at the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine at the Charité Berlin. The Moroccan speakers included representatives of the Sûreté Nationale and the Gendarmerie Royale, who presented Moroccan experiences in the field of toxicology. The following were some of the topics discussed at the seminar:
Introduction to Forensic Toxicology
Systematic toxicological tests in selected death cases
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Advantages and disadvantages of hair analysis
With the help of specific case examples, the participants also discussed the significance and methods of toxicological testing used in investigating deaths. During lively discussions, they talked about the current problems in the cooperation between legal and forensic medicine, toxicology and public prosecutors, in particular the continued lack of communication between all those involved during the investigation process.
Participants and speakers at the seminar in Fez Morocco
On 25 and 26 September 2019, the IRZ, in partnership with the Moroccan Public Prosecutor’s Office, organised a two-day seminar in Fez on “Discovery of a corpse – cooperation between the justice system, legal and forensic medicine and the police”. The seminar is part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of legal and forensic medicine, with particular consideration paid to the concerns of the Moroccan justice system” project. The IRZ is coordinating this project between 2017 and the end of this year as part of the project financed by the German Foreign Office (Transformation Partnerships with North Africa/the Middle East).
The objective of the seminar was to point out to the attending public prosecutors the importance of a trusting working relationship between public prosecutors, forensic scientists and the police. A practical example of the discovery of a corpse was used to discuss the crucial roles played by all three parties involved in the criminal investigation.
The following experts were appointed by the IRZ to take part:
Prof. Dr. Knut Albrecht, Director of the Brandenburg Regional Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine;
Ralph Knispel, Senior Public Prosecutor, Head of the Capital Offences Department; President of the Vereinigung Berliner Staatsanwälte e.V. (Berlin association of public prosecutors);
Christof Lehmkühler, Detective Chief Inspector in the 5th Homicide Division at the Berlin State Office of Criminal Investigations.
The IRZ experts presented the most important provisions in the German Code of Criminal Procedure for legal and forensic medicine. They also discussed in detail the significance of legal and forensic reports in investigation procedures. They stipulated the necessity of establishing quality standards for these reports. Another important topic was the prioritisation of evidence at the crime scene, which the participants discussed with the help of a number of specific case examples.
The current situation in terms of legal and forensic medicine in Morocco was also discussed. They established that the draft legislation on a professional code for forensic scientists, which the IRZ is also advising on as part of this project, should include new and clear regulations for exercising legal and forensic medicine. There are still a few outstanding issues to be resolved in this context, such as the question of sufficient funding for legal and forensic medicine.
