Criminalistics Laboratory

The PCIC Criminalistics Laboratory is the technical-scientific unit responsible for the collection, preservation, analysis, and assessment of material evidence in criminal proceedings. Established with the support of the Portuguese Judicial Police and trained in its laboratories between 2012 and 2016, the laboratory is one of the fundamental pillars of PCIC’s identity as a scientific police force, distinguishing it from other criminal-police bodies by its specialised technical capacity.

Its work extends from the judicial inspection of the crime scene - where evidence is detected, recorded, and collected - through to the preparation of expert reports with full judicial value. A rigorous chain of custody is maintained at every stage of the process, ensuring the integrity and admissibility of the evidence at trial. The reports produced by the laboratory constitute expert evidence under the Code of Criminal Procedure, and its specialists may be called to testify in court.

The laboratory provides specialised forensic services in several scientific areas. In ballistics, it analyses firearms, ammunition, and projectiles recovered from crime scenes, allowing weapons to be linked to shots fired. In document examination, it inspects documents suspected of forgery, including passports, identity cards, contracts, and other instruments. In toxicology, it analyses substances recovered in investigations of drug trafficking, poisonings, and suspicious deaths. The laboratory also performs the analysis and comparison of biological traces and other physical evidence recovered from crime scenes.

The laboratory operates according to international forensic-science standards, in line with the guidelines of the Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN), a regional organisation with which PCIC maintains technical cooperation. The 2020-2030 Strategic Plan sets the goal of international ISO accreditation for the laboratory, strengthening external recognition of the quality and reliability of its expert work.