Forensic Science Service

Written evidence submitted by the Forensic Science Society

(FSS 85)

In response to the announcement that a review of the government’s decision to sell off the Forensic Science Service is to be undertaken, the members of the Forensic Science Society, which is the professional body for forensic practitioners, would like the committee to take note of their concerns on some of the terms of reference.

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?

· Stifling of research and development seemed to be the biggest concern.

Commercial companies and police forces may be unlikely to invest in expensive research. The Service has an internationally recognised reputation for excellence and has paved the way for ground breaking research in many areas. Furthermore it’s collaboration with industry has led to the development of instrumentation which now forms the basis of well equipped laboratories world wide. The FSS is currently a partner in a 1.2M euro bid to the European Union under the Advanced Forensic framework initiative. It is uncertain whether a police force or commercial provider could devote similar resources.

· There would inevitably be a loss of experienced personnel to train and mentor. Many more senior staff would leave the profession altogether, which would leave a large gap in terms of experience and expertise. If new private laboratories are set up to deal with this their recruitment is likely to be from young and inexperienced personnel who will not have the benefit of the training input from senior practitioners.

· The loss of retained material poses a serious threat to future investigations. The Forensic Science Service houses a huge collection of samples and retained case files and materials. Ownership of databases and collections would be difficult to manage and distribution of these would entail huge risks which could easily lead to samples being lost and not available for cold case reviews.

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

· If small companies and police departments are established there will be a considerable amount of pressure on the Regulator to ensure that the very high standards set by the Service are maintained.

· In terms of objectivity the feeling was that it would make little difference to the intellectual impartiality of the scientists. Constraints on the extent of a scientific investigation for financial reasons are far more likely to result in a biased interpretation.

· The effect of the removal of competition from the market place will be to compromise impartiality in that fewer providers may lead to the same organisation providing experts for opposite parties in the same case.

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.

· Most perceived a potential risk if police forces take on cheaper and less experienced personnel in line with budgetary constraints. However it was realised that a lot of forces already do some work themselves and are aware of the need for regulation.

· It was generally felt that there is currently a lack of capacity in the private sector. Expansion of providers to deal with the extra work load would be costly and result in delays.

· It was also feared that there would be an emergence of small, ill equipped establishments that will offer services that are below standard in terms of depth and quality or that the less profitable areas of forensic science will be neglected.

5) What are the alternatives to winding down the Forensic Science Service?

· A number of suggestions were put forward which included

- a major reduction in managerial personnel

- the creation of smaller laboratories run by experienced specialists

- reduce the cost of registration by transferring the cost to the individual

- sell each laboratory separately

- market the services including training outside the UK

- rationalise the staff and equipment to increase efficiency

- follow the recommendation of the 2009 NAS report from the USA which supports a national forensic science institute with core funding from the public purse.

It was generally felt that the proposed closure was an ill thought out and regressive step which could compromise the quality of forensic science, inhibit research and development and could jeopardise its contribution to the criminal justice system.

Members did not feel it was appropriate to comment on questions 3 and 6

Forensic Science Society

11 February 2011