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For the first time since the 1970s, Jamaica has a purpose-built, state-owned forensic autopsy suite, a critical piece of infrastructure that Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang says will break the long-standing delays in autopsy reports that have haunted the criminal justice system for years.

"A good autopsy report takes a minimum of six weeks. If you multiply that by over a thousand murders per year, you start to understand the kind of pressure we've had and why justice has often been delayed," Chang declared at Thursday's official opening of the Forensic Pathology Autopsy Suite on Orange Street in downtown Kingston.

Painting a stark before-and-after picture, Chang recalled a time when autopsies were conducted under banana trees, with police officers tasked with guarding decomposing bodies in appalling conditions for days.

"We've moved from banana trees to a modern autopsy suite with digital ballistics data, upgraded DNA storage, and biochemistry labs that allow for CSI-style investigations," he said. "This facility is not just a morgue, it's a fully integrated part of the criminal justice chain."

The new facility will allow for post-mortem examinations to be conducted daily and has the capacity to store up to 150 bodies, a major leap forward in a system often paralysed by backlog and outdated infrastructure. But, a shortage of qualified forensic pathologists threatens to undermine the facility's full potential. Chang revealed that the country currently has only a handful of publicly employed forensic pathologists, and retaining them has proven difficult.

"Once they get trained, they go abroad. It's not just Jamaica, there's a global shortage," he said. "Right now, we're doing what we can with who we have but it's not enough." Chang, who is also deputy prime minister, said the Government is now pursuing international partnerships to train and retain Jamaican specialists.

"We're exploring training partnerships in other jurisdictions where general pathologists are trained and then specialise in forensics," he told THE WEEKEND STAR. "The goal is to build a pipeline of Jamaicans who stay. That's the ambition."

Until now, autopsies often depended on private funeral homes, some of which lacked the appropriate technical infrastructure for legal investigations.

"Now we don't have to rely on private funeral homes that don't have the proper facilities for medico-legal investigations," Chang said. "We finally have a facility that meets the standard of humane and professional treatment even for the dead."

The backlog in post-mortem cases, which is estimated at nearly 20,000, has stalled police investigations, frustrated grieving families and delayed justice in courtrooms.

"Unless you can take quality evidence to court, the system cannot work. That's just a fact of life," Chang said. "It's not about blaming judges or accusing lawyers. If you don't have credible, professional forensic evidence, you cannot win cases."

Chang said the suite's capacity makes it adaptable for mass casualty events, epidemics or surges in violence, and will also reduce the need for costly outsourcing to private facilities.

"But most importantly, it allows us to deliver timely, trustworthy evidence for the courts and in doing so, deliver justice."