Conditions of Physical Facilities for Public Forensic Assessment Organizations

This Circular provides specific regulations on the physical facility conditions of public forensic examination organizations as follows:

- Physical condition requirements for the Institute of Forensic Science and the Provincial Public Security Forensic Science Departments include offices for leaders; offices for forensic examiners; assistants to forensic examiners; meeting rooms; unit briefing rooms; reception rooms; and scientific seminar rooms.

- For rooms housing forensic examination equipment (machine rooms); laboratories; storage for forensic examination files; storage for examined items post-examination; experimental shooting ranges; clerical rooms, reception of requests, and return of forensic examination results, based on the specific nature of forensic technical examination work, are implemented according to the following specific standards:

* For the Institute of Forensic Science

- Equipment room (machine room): Room for housing examination equipment for chemical and biological examinations with a minimum area of 36m². The remaining 8 forensic technical examination disciplines as regulated in Circular No. 33/2014/TT-BCA, each discipline is allocated one equipment room with a minimum area of 18m².

- Laboratory: Laboratory for chemical and biological examinations has a minimum area of 36m² per discipline. Laboratories for fingerprint, fire, and explosion examinations have a minimum area of 24m² per discipline. The laboratory design references ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standards.

- Storage for forensic examination files: 36m²;

- Storage for post-examination narcotic substances: 24m²;

- Experimental shooting range: 01 experimental shooting range: 150m²;

- Clerical room, reception of requests, and return of forensic examination results: 24m².

* For the Provincial Police Forensic Science Departments, the Provincial Police Departments directly under the Central Government, and the Ministry of National Defense Forensic Technical Examination Department

- Equipment room (machine room): Document examination, mechanical trace examination, gun and ammunition examination, and fingerprint examination disciplines share one equipment room with a minimum area of 24m².

The chemical examination disciplines (including narcotic substance examination), fire and explosion examination, and technical examination share one equipment room with a minimum area of 24m².

The remaining disciplines including sound examination and digital and electronic technical examination (if decentralized) share one equipment room with a minimum area of 16m²;

- Laboratory: The fingerprint, fire, explosion, chemical, and biological examination disciplines each have one laboratory room with a minimum area of 16m². The laboratory design references ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standards.

- Storage for forensic examination files: 24m²;

- Storage for post-examination narcotic substances: 16m² (applies to units authorized to conduct narcotic substance examinations);

- Units authorized to conduct gun and ammunition examinations are equipped with one shooting barrel or one experimental shooting well;

- Reception room, reception of requests, and return of forensic examination results share within the premises of the Provincial Public Security headquarters.

See more details at: Circular 13/2018/TT-BCA effective from July 1, 2018.

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