Forensic Science Service

Written evidence submitted by the Statistics and Interpretation Group, Research and Development Department, Forensic Science Service (FSS 71)

1 The comments below relate to the following questions:

1) What will be the impact of the closure of the FSS on forensic science and on the future development of forensic science in the UK?

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

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 FSS. The volume and nature of the forensic work carried out by police forces will also be examined in this light.

2 The Statistics and Interpretation Group consists of three statisticians (Dr Anjali Mazumder, Dr Roberto Puch-Solis, Dr Lauren Rodgers), two engineers (Mr Ismael Mateos-Garcia, Mr James Skerrett) and a biomedical and forensic scientist (Miss Amanda Kirkham). Dr Ian Evett, of the Chief Scientist’s group, acts as a consultant on several of the projects. The role of the group is to carry out research and to provide casework support on statistical methods in the evaluation and interpretation for a variety of scientific evidence types.

Bringing Academic Research into Practice

3 Academic research is undoubtedly a very important aspect of innovation. However, for academic research to be put into practice, it is necessary to have an insight into the intricacies of casework. As practising and research statisticians we understand casework requirements as well as the complexities of carrying out research and developing systems that are fit for casework. We constantly interact with caseworkers, biochemists, software engineers and quality-assurance managers to ensure that new methodologies fulfil all requirements for use in the criminal justice system.

4 In the past the FSS has successfully introduced new methodologies. A notable example is the introduction of DNA as forensic evidence. Dr Peter Gill and others took the method of Sir Alec Jeffreys and created a service that revolutionised forensic science. Dr Ian Evett and others have introduced a new methodology for case assessment and interpretation (CAI), which is currently under consideration for introduction across European laboratories.

5 At present the Statistics and Interpretation Group, following the FSS tradition, is providing novel methods for interpreting DNA, fingerprint and shoemark evidence using computer systems. The plan for the future is to bring novel methods for other evidence types as well as the combination of multiple evidence types.

6 In relation to question 1, if the group ceases to exist, innovation on forensic statistics in practice in the UK would be greatly impaired. In relation to question 4, we believe that academia alone cannot fulfil this role, and private forensic companies would not be able to fund their own research.

The Future of Evaluation and Interpretation of Evidence

7 The evaluation and interpretation of evidence requires both statistical expertise and the expertise of forensic scientists. For a statistician to contribute effectively to this end requires lengthy training and casework experience. Currently Ian Evett, who has retired but continues to work for the FSS as a part-time consultant, is leading in the training of the members of the Statistics and Interpretation Group. If the group ceases to exist, this expertise will be lost.

8 In relation to question 2, the lack of statistical advice to casework will have a serious impact on the quality of evaluation of scientific forensic evidence. There is a real danger that it will lead to recurrences of instances of the incorrect use of statistics and miscarriages of justice such as occurred in R v Clark and R v George.

The unique nature of the statistic and interpretation group

9 The Statistics and Interpretation Group actively interact with the forensic science community.

1) We participate in the FORSTAT research group: a group consisting of practising and academic forensic statisticians across Europe.

2) We act as the industrial partner in EPSCRC funded studentships with Sheffield University and Queens University. The PhD students carry out research on fingerprints and shoemarks, respectively.

3) We have a representative in the Law and Statistics working group of the Royal Statistical Society.

4) We are members of a group that has applied for EU funding under the Advance Forensic Framework initiative with 15 other forensic laboratories and Universities across Europe.

5) We are participating in the project titled "Development and implementation of an ENFSI standard for reporting evaluative forensic evidence", sponsored by the EU.

6) We are active in the statistics and forensic science communities through publications, oral presentations and workshops.

10 If the proposed closure of the FSS goes ahead as planned it will not only jeopardize research and development of statistical methods for the evaluation and interpretation of forensic evidence but it will also lose the statistical expertise that supports the balanced and effective evaluation of scientific evidence in the UK criminal justice system.

Declaration of Interest

11 This document states the personal opinion of the members of the Statistics and Interpretation Group of the FSS

Statistics and Interpretation Group of the FSS

14 February 2011