Forensic Science Service

Written evidence submitted by the Natural History Museum (FSS 22)

Background and interests

1. The Natural History Museum (NHM) has a mission to maintain and develop its natural history collections to be used to promote the discovery, understanding, responsible use and enjoyment of the natural world.

2. The Natural History Museum has developed a forensic science consultancy service, built on a foundation of forensic entomology expertise. Detailed information is available on our Forensics website (www.nhm.ac.uk/forensics). In brief, the primary objective of our forensic entomology input to criminal investigations is to estimate the minimum post-mortem interval (PMI) in cases of suspicious or untimely death, generally homicides and suicides. A wide range of other cases can be addressed, but PMI questions are the lead motivator for our activities. The PMI can be estimated by an analysis of the insect evidence, using knowledge of both the rates of development of insects on cadaverous material and the succession of insects across different phases of decomposition. We have an active research programme that generates peer-reviewed publications on which we base our analysis when preparing casework reports. In addition, we are active in raising awareness of the potential for using forensic entomology and other ecological sciences, through lectures to police forces, universities and professional bodies, for example, for pathologists and forensic scientists. We also run tailored training courses on forensic entomology.

3. Our work on forensic entomology is funded in two main ways:-

· Through the Government’s Grant in Aid to the Museum (Department of Culture, Media and Sports) which mainly funds salaries of long-term staff.

· Through contracts won by successful submission of proposals to competitive calls (Natural Environment Research Council, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), which fund the salaries of short-term staff, infrastructure development, research and marketing.

4. Our forensic entomology consultancy generates income for the Museum through casework, either working directly with individual police forces or through the supply of services to forensic providers such as Cellmark Forensics, LGC Forensics, Manlove Forensics and, the focus of this submission, the Forensic Science Service (FSS). The NHM has a current framework agreement with the FSS, in place since March 2009, to provide forensic entomology services, and this agreement is due for renewal in March 2011.

5. We are seeking ways of expanding our service to an international market. We are also seeking to develop further consultancy work in the fields of forensic anthropology, and in forensic applications of other areas of zoology, botany and mineralogy.

Submission

We have answered the questions this Inquiry asks that are relevant to the Museum and its activities in this regard.

Question 1:  What will be impact of the closure of the Forensic Science Service on forensic science and on the future development of forensic science in the UK?

6. The FSS analyses forensic evidence from more than 120,000 cases each year and is the market leader in the analysis of forensic evidence in England and Wales, responsible for about 60% of that market. Our main concern is that it is doubtful that development of alternative services, currently responsible for some 40% of the market, could be accelerated to fill the vacuum left by the rapid closure of FSS, especially with the delivery of a service to the same high quality and rapid turnover as that presently offered.

7. The Museum contributes forensic entomology input to the Natural Justice specialist ecology service of the FSS. Natural Justice provides very effective marketing of a relatively small component in the forensic toolkit and it is likely that there would be damage to awareness of forensic entomology, and similar expertise, through closure of FSS. Specialist services such as forensic entomology lead to efficiencies through the judicial system: better quality and more rapid analysis of entomological evidence has knock-on benefits through better targeted and more timely crime investigation, for example, suspect confirmation, prosecution or elimination. This decreases the number of cases that are prolonged unnecessarily, hence becoming costly, and/or are reopened due to an unsatisfactory initial conclusion. With the subsequent threat to these specialist services with the closure of FSS, the efficiency of criminal investigations is put at risk.

8. The FSS has been responsible for development of some fundamental tools in forensic work, for example, pioneering the development and implementation of DNA technologies. It is likely that break up of FSS research teams of a critical mass would lead to a reduction in the productivity of the dispersed individuals in those teams in developing new tools for forensic science.

Question 2: What will be the implications of the closure on the quality and impartiality of forensic evidence used in the criminal justice system?

9. It has been clear to us through the negotiations that led to our inclusion in the FSS’s Natural Justice Service that the FSS has an extremely high quality of service and accreditation, for example, adherence to ISO standards. Some of the alternative forensic providers have similar high standards, but smaller providers might not be able to match those standards, especially if they try to take on the opened market in a poorly prepared state, and it is likely that overall standards would fall. Should standards remain high, then it is likely that the numbers of cases that could be handled would fall.

10. If police forces carry out their own forensic work it will no longer be perceived as impartial. This is likely to result in an increase in demand for defence work, thus increasing costs to the CPS.

Question 4: What is the state of, and prospects for, the forensics market in the UK, specifically whether the private sector can carry out the work currently done by the Forensic Science Service and the volume and nature of the forensic work carried out by police forces?

11. With regard to forensic entomology provision, we currently carry out this specialist work for the FSS. Therefore, for forensic entomology and similar contracted-out services, other providers will be able to continue to carry out the work currently handled by FSS. However, these represent a tiny part of the 120,000 cases handled by FSS each year and we are not able to comment on the bulk of the forensic work handled by FSS.

12. FSS offers probably the most comprehensive range of forensic services of any provider and so it is likely that customers will experience difficulties in finding an alternative provider that can handle all of the skills required for each case.

Joe Baker

Special Adviser

Natural History Museum

7 February 2011