Kathmandu, December 18

The second national conference of police and government attorneys is set to begin in Kathmandu on Friday.

The three-day conference is expected to serve as a platform for resolving differences frequently arising between police (investigators) and government attorneys (prosecutors) in the course of delivering justice to crime victims, said Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal at a press meet organised to provide information about the gathering today.

“We hope that this conference will help us develop a common assumption on crime investigation and prosecution, and make it more scientific,” he said. Joint Attorney General Lokraj Parajuli said police and government attorneys were complementary in criminal justice administration. The conference will be useful to maintain coordination between police officers and government attorneys to make crime investigation and prosecution more effective and implement the new penal code in a professional way.

A common misunderstanding between police officers and government attorneys is that the former often blame the latter of weakening the case filed at the court to let the suspects off the hook. Government attorneys also accuse police of failing to conduct effective and evidence-based investigation before asking the former to file a case.

Such conflict between investigators and prosecutors often lead the court either to hand down lenient punishment or order release of the guilty. Both investigators and prosecutors have a common goal in criminal justice system.