Conference ReportSummer Conference Report “Is What You See What You Get” 4–6 July 2008 The Derbyshire Hotel, Derby
Section snippets
Role of the crime scene manager and environmental experts
Callum Sutherland La Plante Productions, Dr John Manlove and Dr Anna Sandiford, Manlove Forensics
In this workshop, Callum described how the bodies of murder victims and missing persons can be discovered and recovered from various types of environments, including deep or shallow graves, surface dumps or in water, to name but a few. He demonstrated by case examples that it is often the case that investigators do not prepare by considering the possible scenarios by which a high risk missing person
Court Room Skills
Ian Stebbings
The Court Room Skills workshop explored how perception and assumptions can alter the evidence given by a witness, and in particular an expert witness. The workshop leaders included practical exercises where they presented various challenges to the participants' perceptions, using a number of graphical and written exercises. It was also possible to show how one's perception could alter in an instant despite being told exactly what the participants were observing.
An exercise was then
Forensic Science Regulator — forensic science regulation — what and how?
Andrew Rennison, Forensic Regulator
The Forensic Regulator is a role which has developed in response to a declaration of need arising from a range of sources, such as the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee 1989, House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology 1993, Royal Commission 1991–1993, Caddy report 1996, Forensic Science Working Group 1997, Forensic Science on Trial 2005 and the various miscarriage of justice cases that have been highly publicised in recent years. The role
Skills for Justice
Charles Welsh, Skills for Justice
Skills for Justice is a not for profit organisation who set the national occupational standards for professions within the justice sector. The justice sector is divided into six strands (community justice, courts, custodial care, policing & law enforcement, prosecution and forensic science) and Skills for Justice are considered to be the guardian of the national occupational standards for professions held within these sectors.
Skills for Justice believes that
UK Forensic Science Education Group (UKFSEG)
Professor Julie Mennell, Dean of School of Applied Science, University of Northumbria, United Kingdom
A number of courses in the UK that are forensic based or have a forensic element is ever increasing and these courses are often the subject of a significant amount of criticism and discussion by forensic providers and the wider forensic community. Such courses have encouraged potential students to consider a career in science and many graduates have secured employment in science based careers,
Forensic Science Society (FSSoc)
Dr. Anya Hunt, Chair of Standards Committee, Forensic Science Society
The Forensic Science Society was founded as a learned Society in 1959, and became a professional body in 2004. The logo is inscribed with the words ‘Magna est veritas et praevalet’, which means ‘Great is the truth and it prevails’. The aims of the Society is to advance the study, application and standing of forensic science and facilitate co-operation among persons interested in forensic science throughout the world and these
Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners (CRFP)
Dr. Kate Horne, Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners (CRFP)
The CRFP is the UK organisation that is responsible for the accreditation and registration of forensic practitioners. CRFP was set up in response to a general demand for an independent system by which the competence of forensic practitioners could be assured through accreditation as illustrated by the Forensic Science Working Group Report November 1997, which stated that “There was a general desire for a system which
Question time — Providing assurance to the criminal justice system and confidence to the public
Charles Welsh, Skills for Justice, Professor Julie Mennell, UKFSEG, Dr. Kate Horne, CRFP & Dr. Anya Hunt, Forensic Science Society
This session enabled the audiences to pose questions openly to the speakers named above for open debate and discussion.
Q. How necessary is statutory backing for regulation of practitioners?
Currently the registration of forensic practitioners is voluntary and practitioners are encouraged to engage with this process, as it is the interests of them and their company.
Security of passports and travel documents
Paul Giles, National Document Fraud Unit, UK Border Agency
The first documented use of passports was in 450 BC when an official of the King of Persia had to leave the country and the King wrote a letter giving him permission. Since then, the design of the passport has undergone many changes and has an intricate structure incorporating many features designed to prevent forgery (alteration of a real passport) and counterfeiting (totally fake) of passports. The first official passport was a
New approaches to soil evidence: Modern methods to maximise what we can see
Dr. Lorna Dawson, Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
The Macaulay Institute is a government funded research centre, which is UKAS accredited, and one of the areas of research is soil. Soil varies in its composition both horizontally and vertically across the landscape and therefore is a potential forensic tool in crimes involving outdoor scenes. The horizontal component is important when tracking routes, whereas the vertical component is important when dealing with buried items. During
The prospects for a nascent neuroimaging of lie detection
Professor Sean Spence, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Deception is a both a biological and a social phenomenon, which is believed to have arisen in our common ancestors 12 million years ago, and becomes more common as you ascend the evolutionary tree. The ring-tailed lima is very honest, whereas great apes regularly engage in tactical deception, usually to obtain food or reproduce. Group size is also significant, as deception is more prevalent in bigger groups.
Bond & DePaulo (2006)
When science doesn't meet the law: Addressing the absence of forensic skills in law degrees
Dr Carole McCartney, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
In recent years, several forensic cases have been reported by the media as the ‘system failed the victim’. Offenders walk free, and the common perception is that scientists are to blame for stepping outside their area of expertise, or failing to do their job, or misrepresenting evidence. However, is it the scientist who is to blame? Are they ‘charlatans, cowboys or experts for hire?’ This presentation emphasised the fact that the forensic
Response to the Omagh judgement on DNA profiling evidence
Peter Gill, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom
On 15 August 1998, the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland was the target of an IRA bomb, killing 29 people and injuring many more. Recently, one suspect faced trial in Northern Ireland, and the outcome of this trial has placed the reliability of low copy number (LCN) DNA profiling under the microscope and resulted in negative media projection of the technique and scientific experts in general. Peter Gill was one of the expert witnesses called
You get what you see!
Pam Hamer, Independent Consultant
It is essential that a competent scientist is employed to do the best job that they can, but technically the recovery of evidence from an item is an experiment and the quality of recovery by a competent scientist is dependent on several factors, including the equipment available, the working environment and human perception.
Equipment: Resources are often the most limiting factor when striving for good results. When searching for particulates, high intensity
Using Raman imaging to determine the sequence of crossed ink lines on questioned documents
Tim Smith, Renishaw plc & Michael Ansell
The document examiner is often asked to carry out an examination of documents that are believed to be fraudulent, either because they are completely false or because they have been altered. The methods used in the detection of alterations include optical microscopy, where the order in which the pen strokes were applied to a page are inferred by visual examination, but this is often inconclusive or results in a false positive. Fluorescence analysis (VSC)
“The road to consequence — Thinking trial”
Ian Stebbings & Adam Pacifico
Effective presentation of a case in court is vital, and to do this we must have an understanding as to what makes an effective presentation. This is more than relaying the facts as we see them, as illustrated by a middle-aged juror sitting on the infamous paedophilia case launched against Michael Jackson. This juror stated on interview that ‘I disliked it intensely when she (a prosecution witness) snapped her fingers at us….I thought don't you snap your fingers at
Forensic analytical services procurement — The informed customer
Emily Burton, Greater Manchester Police & John Gadd, Dorset Police, United Kingdom
In 2003, the Home Office (HO) McFarland review concluded that more competition was required to increase the quality of forensic services in the UK. At this time, 85% of the forensic provision in the UK was attributable to the Forensic Science Service (FSS), who then became a gov.co.uk in 2006. As a result of the McFarland review, a HO, ACPO & APA procurement strategy pilot was recommended. The aims of this pilot
‘Contracts, ‘creditation, register, resignation… is our profession in jeopardy?”
Roger Robson, Forensic Access Ltd
In 1991, the Forensic Science Service moved to agency status and this was followed by the emergence of new suppliers in 1998. 2000 saw the introduction of CRFP and UKAS and in 2002, police forces introduced self-managed contracts and FSANI moved to agency status. This has led to the forensic profession becoming a big commercial industry worth £168 million. However, between 2005 and 2008, 950 staff left the profession. Since 1997, 255 of the 364 cases heard in
Managing high profile cases
Dr Angela Gallop, Director of Science & Innovation, LGC Forensics
Until the early 1990's, the majority of primary forensic work was carried out by the Met Police Lab and then the Forensic Science Service. There was no opportunity for independent re-investigation and defence experts were rarely used, and when they were employed to work on a defence case, the standard of work provided was very mixed. 1991 witnessed the water shed, where the defence could be provided with independent confidential
The Damilola Taylor case
Nigel Sweeney QC
High profile cases produce the greatest availability of financial resources, but with this financial support comes great pressure to obtain results on which a conviction can be secured, which can lead to disaster! Whether we are a scientist or a lawyer, high profile cases should remind us of the overwhelming need to play our part with the straightest of bats, and avoid letting the pressure of the case adversely affect our judgment, conduct or conclusions. The criminal procedure
Reviewing high profile cases
Professor Brian Caddy
On Monday 27th November 2000 at approximately 4.45 pm, 10 year old Damilola Taylor was murdered on the streets of a housing estate in Peckham. He was found collapsed in the stairwell of a block of flats in Blake Road and was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries. The post-mortem examination concluded that he had died from loss of blood resulting from a single stab wound to his left leg. The MPS began the investigation, but the scene examination was difficult, as a
Who should be registered? Progress to date on registration of assistants
Dr Kate Horne, Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners (CRFP)
CRFP are currently involved in many initiatives aimed at offering registration to as many forensic practitioners as possible. The question of registering assistants has been raised and instigated discussions, both within CRFP and between CRFP and related organisations, such as the Forensic Regulator and other professional regulators. The mechanics of registering assistants are currently being explored, but this is still