Select Committee on Public Accounts Fourth Report


1 The time taken to examine forensic evidence

Timeliness performance

1. If forensic analysis is delayed or not available when required, suspects may have to be bailed or re-bailed; the police may not pursue other lines of enquiry while waiting for forensic analysis eliminating a suspect; in extreme circumstances, charges may be dropped; court cases may have to be re-scheduled or prosecutions may go ahead without important forensic evidence.[4]

2. When we last reported on the Agency in 1999, we concluded that it needed to improve the timeliness of its services.[5] Two of the top three priority areas for improvement identified by a survey of over 2,000 police officers in January 2000 related to timeliness. One quarter of complaints received by the Agency in 2001-02 also concerned this issue. In that year, the average number of days taken by the Agency to complete forensic analysis rose to 35 (from 26 the previous year), significantly above the target of 24 days. The target to achieve 93% of delivery dates agreed with customers was also missed, with 89% met. A backlog of cases had built up, with non-urgent forensic evidence routinely being placed in queues before analysis was carried out. The Agency attributed the delays to the length of time taken to recruit and train new staff, its increasing workload and the difficulties in forecasting demand for its services.[6]

3. Twenty-six additional scientists had been trained in 2002-03, with a further ninety to follow in 2003-04. The Agency was also working closely with customers to reduce the queues caused by evidence being delivered and collected in batches. The increased staff numbers and improved management of incoming cases had resulted in the number of outstanding jobs falling. In 2002-03, the Agency fell slightly short of its target to deliver 90% of violent and volume crime jobs within 70 days. This has been replaced by a new target to deliver 95% of all jobs within 42 days by March 2004, which the Agency was confident it would meet (Figure 2).[7] Figure 2: The Agency's 2003-04 timeliness targets
I. Develop capability and capacity to deliver fast-track processing of DNA samples within 48 hours
II. Average time to analyse and inform customers of DNA crime scene stain results (non-fast-track) of 14 days
III. 95% of DNA crime scene stain results to achieve a turnaround time of 20 days (or less)
IV. Average time to analyse and inform customers of DNA suspect sample results on the National DNA Database (non-fast-track) of 6 days
V. 95% of DNA suspect sample results to achieve a turnaround time of 10 days (or less)
VI. Average turnaround time of 42 days for 95% of jobs by year end

Source: The Forensic Science Service

Consistency across laboratories and police forces

4. In 2001-02, three laboratories (London, Chorley and Priory House in Birmingham) processed 73% of the Agency's cases. Only one of the Agency's seven laboratories (Wetherby) achieved the target to meet 93% of agreed delivery dates. The worst performance was at London and Trident Court in Birmingham, with only 86 and 79% respectively met. Analysed by reference to the Agency's main customers, the 93% target was missed for some 32 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. Performance varied from at best 96% for one force to 85% for the lowest.[8]

5. The Agency reported progress since 2001-02, with six of its seven laboratories achieving the 93% target in September 2003. New figures[9] provided by the Agency at the hearing indicated that, in 2003-04, over 90% of agreed delivery dates were being met for all police forces. The Metropolitan Police Service's previous requirement that all its evidence must be dealt with at the Agency's London laboratory, had restricted the Agency's ability to match demand to capacity across sites. The removal of this restriction had led to greater flexibility in distributing the workload and the proportion of work dealt with by the three biggest laboratories had dropped to 49%.[10]

6. Progress had been made at Trident Court, with 83% of agreed delivery dates being met by September 2003. This laboratory deals only with very specialist forensic analysis, which often involves innovative types of research, making timescales difficult to predict.[11]

DNA analysis

7. The Agency analysed 555,000 DNA samples in 2001-02. The number of suspect samples[12] and crime scene samples[13] processed by the Agency for inclusion on the National DNA Database (Figure 3) has increased significantly since 1997-98, largely as a result of the Home Office's DNA Expansion Programme. In September 2002, the average time for processing a suspect sample for inclusion on the database was five days, compared to 350 days in March 1997, although demand for this service had more than doubled in the same period.[14]

8. The Agency reported that, at September 2003, the average turnaround time for suspect samples was 3.5 days. Crime scene samples, on the other hand, typically wait 14 days for analysis, yet the work itself takes no more than 36 hours. The analysis of suspect samples had been automated and the Agency was rolling out the same process to crime scene samples. The Agency was confident that crime scene samples would be processed within three days by March 2006 and, indeed, expected to have excess capacity to process both suspect and crime scene samples by March 2004. The Agency said it was involved in research with a view to establishing capacity to analyse DNA in one hour.[15]




4   C&AG's Report, highlighted box above para 2.3 Back

5   7th Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, The Forensic Science Service (HC 321, Session 1998-99) Back

6   C&AG's Report, paras 2.7, 2.12, 2.17-2.18 Back

7   Qq 3-10, 48-49, 96-111; The Forensic Science Service Annual Report and Accounts 2002-03, p18 Back

8   C&AG's Report, paras 1.15, 2.12 Back

9   These figures have not been validated by the NAO Back

10   Qq 5, 8, 51-53 Back

11   Qq 6-7, 170-171 Back

12   DNA samples taken from suspects Back

13   DNA samples taken from items found at a crime scene Back

14   C&AG's Report, paras 1.10, 2.15 Back

15   Qq 85, 97-98, 143-147 Back


 
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Prepared 27 January 2004