Abstract
Forensic science is adjusting to the closure of the Forensic Science Service FSS in 2012. The market is now dominated by the private service providers (PSPs); though some 50% of police forensic work is carried out in in-house police laboratories. Because of shortage of public money, and especially legal aid for the defence, and perhaps because of less crime, the forensic market is shrinking, and there is fragmentation and uncertainty and instability in the market.
The amount of money spent on forensic science by the police is not very clear, so the Police Crime Commissioners PCCs and their committees and the local authorities and the National Audit Office NAO should look into the matter, searching for value for money. Consistency and standardisation in police practice would be desirable. The Committee recommend more collaborative and regional procurement. The PSPs are faced with the cost of competitive tendering in the market.
Quality
Quality must be assured. All PSPs must be accredited by the UK Accreditation Service UKAS and adhere to the EU Council Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA standard, namely ISO 17025. Most police laboratories similarly adhere, though not all. The Committee think that the UK should remain subject to this EU standard. Forensic scientists work to high professional standards, though in-house scientists may be accused of lack of impartiality and susceptibility to pressure, as indeed may be forensic scientists instructed by the defence. The forensic scientist should always ensure a clear separation or distance between himself and the police or any other client. The forensic service is regulated by the forensic service regulator (FSR), who has propounded the Code of Practice and Conduct for Forensic Science Providers and Practitioners in the Criminal Justice System, and generally advises and guides the profession, though he enjoys no statutory powers of enforcement, and the Committee think that he should be so endowed.
The defence expert has his problems. The scene of the crime has been contaminated before his arrival. The specimens provided are inadequate. He has to work in a team and is dependent upon the cooperation of others. He may be denied the context, the whole picture. The defence expert comes on the scene later than the prosecution expert and has less time to investigate and test. There is no searchable database available. The presentation of evidence is governed by the criminal procedure rules. The Law Commission has advocated a system of pre-trial judicial vetting for admissibility, but this somewhat bureaucratic suggestion has not found favour with Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales, Law Com 325, HC829, 21 March 2011. Barristers want a “good witness” rather than an accredited witness, a witness known by experience and ability and reputation, not a witness relying essentially on accreditation.
Archive
Not uncommonly the file is required 10, 20 or even 30 years after the event, e.g. by the police conducting a cold review, or the Criminal Cases Review Commission conducting a fresh investigation in an alleged miscarriage case. For cases up to 2012 there is the Forensic Archive Ltd FAL, but this is historic and not being added to now, so that finding material from 2012 onwards may become increasingly difficult.
Research
Every discipline needs research and development. Forensic science has become something of a Cinderella, receiving little from the research councils, and only limited investment from the PSPs. The universities must be persuaded to play a more significant role, for which they will need intellectual, financial and moral support. How else will sophisticated criminals be prevented or thwarted from gaining the upper hand? In January 2012, Dobson and Norris were convicted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence solely as the result of state-of-the-art forensic evidence. Forensic evidence will surely be needed in the new prosecution for the murder of PC Blakelock.
Strategy
The Committee strongly advocate the creation and implementation of a forensic science strategy. The relevant minister should be the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, liaising with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. The Forensic Policy Group, the forum for all interested parties, should be re-invigorated. The FSR should have enhanced statutory powers. Money must be found for essential research.
