A year ago, a safe was stolen from a residence in Cobourg and on the same day a vehicle was stolen. Unfortunately for the criminal involved, he had been in trouble before (and was on Probation) so his DNA was in the DNA Databank. Samples from both crime scenes were sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto to be processed with the result that recently 27 year old, Baltimore resident, Andrew Christian Drysdale was charged with both crimes. “Processing the crime scene” is done by a Forensics Identification Officer (FIO) – just like on the TV shows, they dust for fingerprints, take photographs, collect swabs, and maintain a secure scene. But in this case and going forward, the Forensics Identification Officer was recently trained and appointed Special Constable Vicky Darbyshire.
Previously, this work was done by a regular constable or in cooperation with the OPP. Vicky was a Detective Sergeant in England so had some experience but she completed an eight week course at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa and is now officially the FIO for Cobourg Police. Chief Kai Liu said that “It benefits us and the community to have this position in-house because we now have a quick response time during an investigation and allows us to be more efficient.”
The Police announcement of Vicky’s appointment explained some more:
So what is done with this evidence once it’s collected? Well, it’s a bit like CSI where it’s taken to a forensics lab and put through many tests and examined. Now that Cobourg Police has an internal FIO, this allows them to enhance their collaboration with other police services such as Peterborough, who have their own forensics lab. Working in partner with Peterborough Police provides S/C Darbyshire with expertise and mentorship from other FIOs within the Peterborough Police Service and saves the Cobourg Police Service over $100,000 annually in upkeep costs for such a technical lab.
We continue to build on our collaboration with Ontario Provincial Police and will defer investigations to them should our FIO not be available at the time.
Chief Kai is continuing to take advantage of tiered policing and is increasingly using Special Constables to replace sworn and higher paid regular Officers.
Print Article:
They must be saving all kinds of money. I see in their Twitter feed that the Chief and inspector were able to afford customized chef jackets in order to bbq hamburgers.
I see Mr. Drysdale was taken in custody yet again on Tuesday morning….fine, outstanding citizen.
Not the first time this has been attempted at Cobourg Police. A employment equity appeal will end up making this job paid the same as a constable.
Just like the time the Court Officers demanded, and got, a raise based on Constables wages.
So it took a year to get the DNA samples matched by the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto?
Let’s hope then that the Peterborough lab is faster.
But with all the money that Cobourg Police is making, couldn’t we have our own lab and perhaps share with -gasp! – Port Hope?
For a closer look at what an in-house forensic lab can do:
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8913849-csi-halton-police-count-down-to-launch-of-new-forensics-lab/
We don’t know how long it took to get the DNA samples matched. There could be other factors involved in an investigation that might delay the laying of charges.
And just because our Police Service is awash in cash doesn’t mean we should spend it willy nilly. Who knows what the cost to set up such a lab is, but it is reported that it chews up over $100,000 annually in upkeep costs for such a technical lab
Is this a brand new hire (added expense to the budget) or is this position a replacement…ie: no added personnel to the already large police force we have for our small town?
Give it a rest
Regardless of any additional expense or personnel, Cobourg is in need, and I applaud Cobourg Police.