The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with the Government of Japan, handed over three-dimensional (3D) crime scene laser scanning and mapping equipment to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday.

PNP Forensic Group chief, PBGen. Benjamin Sembrano, and UNODC Country Manager Daniele Marchesi signed the acknowledgment receipt of the Forensic Investigation 3D Laser Scanner during a handover ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“Today's handover and demonstration of the Forensic Investigation 3D Laser Scanner symbolizes not just our partnership, but likewise cements our shared commitment and deeper understanding of our role as peacekeepers and agents of truth and justice against the backdrop of a fluid, labile, evolving, and complex criminality, as well as the illegal narcotics and substance trade, which have become a global phenomenon in scale and breed,” Sembrano said, as he accepted the investigation equipment.

Sembrano also noted that the new 3D laser scanning device, which is the first of its kind in the organization, will enable the PNP’s forensic investigators to capture every detail of the crime scene, including the original state of the evidence, its location, measurements, and even evidence patterns.

“This apparatus will capture immediate and surrounding details of crime scenes, such that correlation, association, and evaluation of evidence will be preserved and even documented before processing, hence fostering transparency, authenticity, and credibility,” he stated.

The PNP's latest technology is seen to enhance law enforcement's capabilities to address security threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism.

Sembrano also said the 3D scanner will improve the PNP’s ability to document and reconstruct complex crime scenes, particularly those involving terrorism, by capturing accurate, detailed images crucial for investigations and legal proceedings.

According to Sembrano, the PNP is aiming to procure four more 3D forensic scanners, with each costing around USD 62,000.

Enhancing Phl forensics

For his part, UNODC Country Manager and Program Officer in the Philippines, Daniele Marchesi, said the provision of a 3D forensic scanner serves as the Japanese government’s support for the UNODC’s regional initiative, dubbed “Supporting Member States in Southeast Asia to Strengthen their Immediate Responses to Crises and Security Concerns.”

“This handover is part of the Japan-funded initiative supporting member states in Southeast Asia to strengthen their immediate responses to crises and security concerns… and we are very much committed to continuing to strengthen it, to make it an ever more effective, efficient, and credible law enforcement entity in the Philippines,” Marchesi said.

He said the project is not only limited to providing equipment but also seeks to introduce a systemic forensic approach to the benefiting countries.

“Modernizing forensic approaches is necessary to meet the challenges of increasingly complex security threats, and we see that all the time and everywhere. It’s also very important to keep the technological edge at the same level as the threats that we’re facing,” Marchesi stressed.

The equipment being provided, he added, will enable the PNP to document and reconstruct crime scenes with precision—using advanced 3D imaging to capture critical evidence and reconstruct events virtually.

Marchesi said improving the forensic system includes capabilities for analyzing bullet trajectories, bloodstain patterns, and other evidence that can be revisited digitally long after the physical scene is released.

“By introducing this technology, we are taking purposeful steps forward in modernizing forensic practices in the Philippines,” he added.

“It enables more efficient and detailed investigations, reducing reliance on traditional methods, while ensuring that evidence collected stands up to scrutiny in both national and international courts,” he added.

Marchesi also said this support is part of a broader effort by UNODC to enhance the skills of law enforcement, including the Philippine National Police, on human rights-based approaches to investigation in a variety of fields, such as transnational organized crime, maritime crime, money laundering, and cybercrime.

Japan’s contributions

Koichi Warisawa, director of the International Safety and Security Cooperation Division, Foreign Policy Bureau under Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the provision of the 3D crime laser scanner serves as an outcome of strategic cooperation between Japan and UNODC Goals and Priorities 2024 to 2026.

“This is the latest example of Japan’s contribution to Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, in partnership with the UNODC in areas of law enforcement and criminal justice, countering and preventing terrorism, and organized crime.”

Warisawa said both Japan and UNODC prioritized providing contributions in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly Southeast Asia.

He then reiterated Japan's wide range of support for disrupting transnational illegal drugs, smuggling through border security management, combating trafficking in persons for forced criminality in online scams and illegal casinos, improving all private prisons, including humanitarian treatment, combating online radicalization and terrorist activities, prevention and eradication of cybercrime, and provision of investigation equipment and training for law enforcement agencies, as well as curtailing the financing of terrorist and criminal activities, like money laundering, including the use of cryptocurrencies.

“This accounts for 56% of more than US$17 million in funding to the UNODC, now being implemented this year,” he noted.

Warisawa said the 3D scanning laser mapping equipment will assist in evidence collection at crime scenes using cutting-edge technologies.

“We expect that the equipment will be an asset for the capacity-building of the Philippine police in the prosecution and conviction of offenders of serious crimes, such as homicide,” he said.