Introduction
The Forensic Science Service is an executive agency of the Home Office. Working from seven laboratories with over 2,500 staff, the Agency provides forensic science services to the 43 police forces in England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Customs and Excise (Figure 1). In 2001-02, the Agency analysed forensic evidence in some 135,000 cases, as well as 555,000 samples of DNA, contributing to the two million profiles held on the National DNA Database by December 2002.[1] On 17 July 2003, the Home Secretary announced plans for the Agency to become a public-private partnership.[2]
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General,[3] we took evidence from the Forensic Science Service on three main issues: the time taken to examine forensic evidence, communication with customers, and the implications of the Agency's transition to public-private partnership status.
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