Police turn to insects for forensic assistance

Dubai Police have created a new unit that will study insects at crime scenes to help them learn more about the circumstances surrounding a person's death.

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DUBAI // Insects may soon play a vital role in helping police hunt down murderers.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Dubai Police chief, has ordered police to establish a new specialised division that will study insects found at crime scenes.

Forensic entomology, as the science is called, can reveal important clues about a crime, including the victim's time of death.

The division will fall under the Dubai Police forensic science and criminology department.

"This division is important as it would help us in analysing corpses, especially decomposed ones. It would play an important role in determining the time of the death," said Lt Col Ahmed Al Muhairi, the acting director of the department.

The Dubai Police department has also commissioned a team from within its ranks to carry out a survey on all crime scene insects, to help enhance the knowledge of this science.