The changing use of forensic science
Science and technology plays a crucial role in the analysis,
interpretation and evaluation of evidence in the forensic science
laboratory and increasingly it is also being applied at the crime
scene. Developments, such as ‘Livescan’ [5], a system of
capturing fingerprints electronically in the custody office, and
‘Lab-in-a-van’, the forensic response vehicle (FRV) developed
by the Forensic Science Service [6], are providing opportunities
to carry out analysis and identification in the custody office and
at the scene, reinforcing the contribution that forensic science
can make to the early stages of an investigation and providing
opportunities for even greater uses.
In the past, the forensic science has been focused on
providing corroborative evidence during the ‘case building’
phase of an enquiry but current thinking now recognises the
important contribution that it can make to the earliest stages of
the forensic process not only in bringing a case to court but in
providing intelligence and influencing the tasking and
coordination process. For example, the UK government is
committed to developing and introducing an Intelligence
Management, Prioritisation, Analysis and Tasking and Coordinating
System (IMPACT) by 2007 [4]. This will allow
criminal intelligence gathered in one force to be accessible by
another and the importance of developing a ‘joined-up’
intelligence system was highlighted in the recent review [7]
of the Soham murder enquiry.
Changes in the ways in which forensic science is being used
in the UK, together with proposals such as the Forensic
Integration Strategy provide us with a picture of the likely
future requirements of the Criminal Justice System (CJS),
which might be termed the ‘system drivers’. At the same time,
there are new and emerging technologies that can be expected
to shape the future use and delivery of forensic and crime scene
science, and these might be termed the ‘technological drivers’.
These changes are expected to alter the current shape of
forensic and crime scene science, blurring the distinctions
between the two disciplines and the roles within them. Changes
of this kind need to be recognised and understood by all areas of
the forensic science community as there are significant
implications for the way that forensic science will be delivered
and used in the future that will impact, not only on the providers
and users of forensic science but also on those, such as Higher
Education Institutions, that have an important part to play in the
training and education of the forensic and crime scene scientists
of the future.