Post by pchallinor on Sept 8, 2011 15:59:33 GMT
Serious crime trials, including those for murder and sexual assault, may be jeopardised or delayed as hundreds of compulsory redundancies at the Forensic Science Service (FSS) take their toll on the justice system.
Senior figures from the Metropolitan police have warned the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that crucial expert witnesses from the forensics service could be lost to the courts if they move into unrelated careers or go abroad after losing their jobs.
Police chiefs are most concerned about the impact on serious and complex cases that rest on many months of painstaking forensics work, but which will not reach the courts before March next year when the FSS closes for business.
Some trials may even collapse if expert witnesses are unavailable. This could happen in cases where evidence is destroyed by chemical tests, or when toxicology tests cannot be repeated, making the forensics specialist's account a crucial part of the trial.
The home secretary, Theresa May, announced the closure of the government-owned FSS last December, citing losses of £2m a month. The FSS has since cut its operating losses, but will stop taking fresh cases at the start of October, leaving private forensics companies to shoulder an extra 120,000 cases a year.
Prosecutors often draw heavily on expert testimonies from forensics specialists who have personally examined evidence collected in police investigations. The closure of the FSS means some specialists may simply be unavailable or impossible to trace for court appearances.
The FSS has already closed three sites, in Chorley, Chepstow and Birmingham, with the loss of more than 600 staff. The organisation estimates that 90% of those who were made redundant left the forensics profession completely, even when private companies nearby were recruiting. Another 1,200 staff will be made redundant before March.
While forensic case files are occasionally handed over in criminal trials, for example, if the investigating scientist dies or leaves the country, specialists who take on fresh cases must review the material independently, a process that can cause severe delays when large volumes of complex evidence are involved. In some instances, private forensics firms and police force labs might not have staff who hold the required accreditation.
"If a trial comes to court in June or July, we need the scientist and their case file to be available. But once they have left the Forensic Science Service, they are under no obligation whatsoever," said Gary Pugh, director of forensics services at New Scotland Yard.
Full article
Senior figures from the Metropolitan police have warned the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that crucial expert witnesses from the forensics service could be lost to the courts if they move into unrelated careers or go abroad after losing their jobs.
Police chiefs are most concerned about the impact on serious and complex cases that rest on many months of painstaking forensics work, but which will not reach the courts before March next year when the FSS closes for business.
Some trials may even collapse if expert witnesses are unavailable. This could happen in cases where evidence is destroyed by chemical tests, or when toxicology tests cannot be repeated, making the forensics specialist's account a crucial part of the trial.
The home secretary, Theresa May, announced the closure of the government-owned FSS last December, citing losses of £2m a month. The FSS has since cut its operating losses, but will stop taking fresh cases at the start of October, leaving private forensics companies to shoulder an extra 120,000 cases a year.
Prosecutors often draw heavily on expert testimonies from forensics specialists who have personally examined evidence collected in police investigations. The closure of the FSS means some specialists may simply be unavailable or impossible to trace for court appearances.
The FSS has already closed three sites, in Chorley, Chepstow and Birmingham, with the loss of more than 600 staff. The organisation estimates that 90% of those who were made redundant left the forensics profession completely, even when private companies nearby were recruiting. Another 1,200 staff will be made redundant before March.
While forensic case files are occasionally handed over in criminal trials, for example, if the investigating scientist dies or leaves the country, specialists who take on fresh cases must review the material independently, a process that can cause severe delays when large volumes of complex evidence are involved. In some instances, private forensics firms and police force labs might not have staff who hold the required accreditation.
"If a trial comes to court in June or July, we need the scientist and their case file to be available. But once they have left the Forensic Science Service, they are under no obligation whatsoever," said Gary Pugh, director of forensics services at New Scotland Yard.
Full article