AFSN

The Asian Forensic Sciences Network is the regional organisation bringing together the forensic-science laboratories of Asian and Pacific countries, promoting the sharing of scientific knowledge, the harmonisation of methodologies, and the mutual recognition of forensic quality standards. For PCIC's Scientific Police Laboratory (LPC), the relationship with the AFSN is a fundamental technical and scientific reference.

Modern forensic science is a constantly evolving field, with new analytical methods, new equipment, and new quality standards emerging regularly. A forensic laboratory that aspires to the judicial recognition of its expert work - and that wants to withstand adversarial scrutiny at trial - has to keep up to date and demonstrate that it follows internationally recognised scientific methodologies. The AFSN provides precisely this reference framework for laboratories in the Asian region.

International accreditation of PCIC's LPC according to AFSN standards and ISO norms is one of the central objectives of the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan. Accreditation is not merely a quality certificate - it is a guarantee that the expert work produced by the laboratory has the scientific rigour required to be recognised not only in Timor-Leste, but also in investigations and trials involving international cooperation. In a world in which transnational organised crime requires evidence that travels between jurisdictions, this accreditation is an investigative asset of concrete value.

PCIC's participation in AFSN activities - scientific conferences, inter-laboratory comparison exercises, specialised training programmes - also allows LPC specialists to stay at the frontier of regional forensic knowledge, benefiting from the experience of laboratories with decades of history and far greater resources, and building the scientific contact networks that can be decisive in cases of high technical complexity.