Police forensic labs among the best: iLIVE

Your article "Police forensics blow own horn" (July 3) refers. Dr David Klatzow claims in the article that the SA Police Service's forensic offerings are a "disaster, politicised and manned by under-qualified staff".

The statement should be backed by facts. Klatzow failed to do so because the accusations he is levelling against the SAPS are without basis. In fact, the country's forensic science laboratories employ well-qualified people (more than 7000), many of whom come from the same institutions that produce medical practitioners employed in both the public and private sectors.

For the record, the credibility of the sample results from our laboratories has never been questioned.

How do people, some with the same qualifications as Klatzow, suddenly become "under-qualified"?

The wealth of knowledge in our forensic laboratories is well known and respected everywhere. Dr Arthur Eisenberg, an American forensic DNA specialist, confirmed that our labs were among the top five in the world. Lengthy sentences handed down to serial killers and rapists by our courts bear testimony to the excellent work done behind the scenes by forensic personnel.

The SAPS's forensic science laboratory will come under public scrutiny for a variety of reasons: something that we welcome. The least Klatzow and others could do is to base their criticism on facts.

We have nothing to hide from Klatzow . Anyone is welcome to visit our state-of-the art, well-functioning forensic laboratories in order to obtain the facts.