Johnathan Paoli
MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi unveiled new technology to assist identification of unclaimed bodies at Gauteng Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) mortuaries.
The identification of unknown and unclaimed bodies will be made more accessible and successful through the digital fingerprint systems that will be used at the 11 FPS mortuaries within the province.
By using biometric scanners and third-party access to the databases of the Department of Home Affairs, the South African Police Force and the National Credit Bureau; the quality of fingerprints will be improved.
Nkomo-Ralehoko emphasised the importance of this system as a transformative milestone in the field of forensic pathology.
“This innovative technology will improve quality of fingerprints collected from the deceased resulting in improved identification rate which in turn will lead to the tracing of families of known unclaimed bodies.”
Having been piloted back in January 2023 at the Bronkhorstspruit, Johannesburg, Diepkloof, Pretoria and Ga-Rankuwa mortuaries; a sample of 65 body trace requests were done and 61 successfully identified with 25 families traced and 4 identities having proved fraudulent.
As it stands, there are a total of 841 unknown bodies spread out at the 11 FPS sites, with 150 previously identified using fingerprints sent to SAPS but still remain unclaimed by relatives. In addition another 691 of the unidentified bodies remain unidentified due to various reasons such as extreme burn wounds, skeletal remains and undocumented individuals.
The Department of Public Service and Administration’s Centre for Public Service Innovation’s replication project, having sponsored the piloting of this digital fingerprint system, has allowed the Gauteng Department of Health to commence the rollout across the province.
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