Conclusions and recommendations
1. In the four years since we last reported
on the Agency, its timeliness performance has been disappointing,
with the target for turnaround times missed in each successive
year. The Agency should
optimise the use and efficiency of its seven laboratories, exploiting
its new operational management system and the removal of the Metropolitan
Police Service's requirement that all its evidence should be dealt
with at the London laboratory.
2. Currently DNA samples found at crime scenes
wait 14 days for analysis, yet the analysis itself takes just
36 hours or less. The Agency intends to
fully automate this process in the next three years. The analysis
of DNA from suspects has been automated and the current turnaround
time for such samples is just 3.5 days. The Agency should be in
a position to demonstrate similar results through the automation
of crime scene sample analysis.
3. A customer satisfaction survey by the Agency
in 2002 indicated that one of the three top areas for concern
was its failure to notify the police of delays in completing forensic
analysis. The Agency must inform the police
and the courts if an agreed delivery date is going to be missed
to avoid, for example, the re-scheduling of court cases.
4. The Agency does not receive regular feedback
on the outcome of the cases in which it has been involved.
The Agency should work with its partners in the criminal justice
systemin particular the police and the courtsto
learn the outcome of specific investigations and prosecutions.
It should use this information to focus its resources on identifying
any areas of weakness on meeting the needs of its customers case
by case.
5. The Agency should develop a better understanding
of the training needs of its customers and tailor its training
more accurately to meet their requirements.
As well as surveying course delegates, the Agency should for example
analyse over time the evidence handling performance of those police
forces which have and have not received training. With more relevant
training in place, the Agency should encourage greater take up
by police forces. It should, in particular, encourage all police
Scene of Crime Officers to attend.
6. The Agency should publicise the impact
of partnership projects with individual police forces across all
forces and explore the feasibility of further initiatives.
Projects such as the Burglary Reduction Initiative in Leeds
and Safer Homes in the West Midlands have resulted
in significant increases in criminal prosecutions and guilty verdicts,
and reduced crime across the regions.
7. In considering plans for the future status
of the Agency, the Home Office should obtain clear and robust
analysis of the merits of different options, including the financial
costs and benefits. In the event of public-private
partnership status, the Home Office should specify how it will
manage risks emanating from the separation of the forensic science
service from the rest of the criminal justice system.
8. There will need to be adequate safeguards
to protect the security and integrity of the National DNA Database,
whatever form the Agency's future status takes.
Access to and use of this sensitive information on over two million
individuals needs to be carefully controlled. As the Home Office
develops its plans for the Agency, it should identify and manage
risks to the database including improper use of the data, for
example for commercial purposes.
9. The Agency's timeliness targets have changed
significantly between 2001-02 and 2002-03, and again between 2002-03
and 2003-04. These changes make it difficult
for the on-going performance of the Agency to be assessed with
any degree of certainty. The Agency should agree targets with
the Home Office which are measurable and consistent over time.
10. The Agency presented the Committee with
performance data which differed from that shown in the C&AG's
Report. Departments must ensure that,
where they wish to present new evidence to the Committee, they
have provided this information to the C&AG in advance of the
hearing, with sufficient time to assess its significance and validity.
The C&AG can then advise the Committee in good time for the
hearing.
|