Remarks at the Opening of the Forensics Center of the Kyrgyz Police School

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BOUCHER:  Thank you, Ambassador, for the nice introduction.  Of all the places I’ve been I’m always very, very happy to be in Kyrgyzstan.  I’m especially happy to be here with you today, the people who represent the police forces of Kyrgyzstan.  And I want to thank especially Minister Sultanov for being here with us today and Director of the police training school Rizkulov.  I am very happy to be here with you today to inaugurate the forensics laboratory’s forensics center at the police training school. 

This school, this forensics center, can play an important role in helping to improve and develop the police capabilities, the professional police capabilities of Kyrgyzstan. Each year we expect over a thousand officers can come here and can learn things about forensic techniques such as fingerprinting and evidence collection and evaluation.  This training is important in itself; it’s also important as a sign of how we want to help improve training and professionalize the police here in Kyrgyzstan.  This school can help build support for the rule of law, it can help foster a culture of lawfulness, and ultimately promote the democratic stability of Kyrgyzstan.  It can also play an important role in professional development and professional development is one of the ways to fight against corruption, which is a standard which you all need to uphold as highly as possible. 

As law enforcement officers, you hold a very high position in society and you need to show an example through your professional conduct of how that position can be upheld. So I have great expectations for this forensics lab, for the kind of assistance and support we can give to your training programs and I look forward to seeing the benefits of our cooperation in many years to come.  So I congratulate all the people who are involved in this initiative, all the people who have helped make it possible, and thank you very much for letting us cooperate with you in this area. 

And now Mr. Minister and Mr. Director, I would like to give you a plaque that commemorates our work here today and that identifies this new forensics center as one of the centerpieces of your school.