the practicalities of forensic science provision to the criminal justice system

The Practicalities of Forensic Science Provision to the Criminal Justice System

Content

• Brief overview of Agency’s role and functions

• The complex stakeholder environment

• The forensic flowline

• Case example of integrated examinations

FSNI

A small but complex scientific organisation working in a large, complex and largely non-scientific stakeholder environment.

Mission: To provide effective, impartial and efficient forensic science services to support justice

Vision: To be recognised as a leading provider of comprehensive, integrated forensic science services, with a reputation for excellence, quality and timely

delivery

Corporate Goal 2010-13: To demonstrate excellence and value for money to our customers and stakeholders through 5% efficiency improvements per year

FSNI Overview

• Agency of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice

• Independent from Police and other CJS organisations

– Especially important in NI context

• Total resource budget 2010/11 = £11.1m.

• 94% cost recovery from paying customers

• PSNI = 90% of work, funded by SLA (0.7% of PSNI’s budget)

• Other customers: Historical Enquiries Team, State

Pathologist, Police Ombudsman, other public and private

• Some Defence cases in other jurisdictions, e.g. ROI

FSNI’s work impacts society, victims, perpetrators, the peace process and public confidence

FSNI Overview• International reputation• >200 staff (~65% scientific grades)• Broader range of disciplines than most other single labs

– Road Traffic Collisions (RTC)– Special Fingerprint Unit (SFU)– Physical Methods: Glass, Fibres, Paint, Toolmarks, Foot/Tyre Marks– Questioned Documents & Thin Films– Firearms– Microchemistry– Fires & Explosives– Alcohol, Drugs & Toxicology– DNA– Biology– Electronics

• One of the broader scopes of ISO 17025 Accreditation

FSNI’s Directorates

ReportingServices

LaboratoryServices

Finance & ICT

Cus

tom

ers

& S

take

hold

ers

Cus

tom

ers

& S

take

hold

ers

Work flow

ReportingServices

Corporate Services

BusinessDevelopment

BusinessDevelopment

Quality

Why is Forensic Provision Complex?• Each year: 5,000 cases; 20,000 exhibits; 80,000 sub exhibits• Technology, instruments, flow-lines, processes and sequencing

– Case integration• Joint Examinations• Sequential Examinations

• Physical environment controls and decontamination procedures– Red and Blue zones: Source areas (bulk) and Sensitive areas

(trace)

• Quality Accreditation & Integrity• Customer/Stakeholder environment• Quasi-market environment• Legal overlay; Independence, Expert Witness, FOI, Disclosure • Information Assurance / Security• Specialist competences: load balancing and capacity planning

Stakeholder Environment

PONI

PPS

SOCA

HMRC

NI Court

Service

NPIA

Universities

&

Schools

FSNIPSNI

HET

NIPS

DoJ

Minister

UKAS

Coroner

Judiciary

ENFSI

AFSP

FSSoc

PrivateCustomers

Public&

Media

Strategic

PartnersSPD

PolicingBoard

NI Assembly;

MLA’s

CJIHMIC

FS

Regulator CAS

DoJDirectorate of

Justice Policy

AssemblyJustice C’ttee

Suppliers

DefenceLawyers

&Experts

Strategic Context• 80% of FSNI work is on Serious Crime

• Most forensic disciplines are also applicable to volume crime

• Priority One Cases (Murders, Rapes, Terrorism, etc.) turnaround within 72 hours

• Resources constrain both quantity and depth of forensic science

• FS organisations are both capital- and intellectual labour-intensive

• Malfunctioning market in E & W has reduced UK capacity and risks dumbing down the science

• FS organisations have intrinsic difficulty with lateral resource movement and lag times for expansion/contraction

• Scientific Ethos: Quality is paramount – ISO 17025;2005

Role of Forensic Science

Facing two ways

Support Police Investigation

Fast (hours and days)

Cooperative

Creative

Compromising

Cost conscious

Provide Expert Witness to the Courts

Slow (months)

Independent

Rigorous

Objective

Cost blind

Doing one must not compromise the other

Forensic Processes• Evidence Recovery

– Scene Handling, Forensic Strategy, Exhibit Selection, Packaging, Storage, Tracking

– Swab, Tape Lift, Shake Out, Vacuum, Extract, Visualise• Analysis

– Detection, identification, quantification– Manual tests– Instrumental Analysis

• Investigative advice to Police– Input to Forensic Strategy– Suggestions for further submissions or tests– Identification of possible suspects

– Evaluation– Findings, Context, Peer Review, Advice to PPS

– Facilitation of Defence– External examination, disclosure

• Report and Expert Witness to Court– AFSP principles: Robust, Logical, Open, Objective– within Competences

For FSNI operationally, the actual “Lab work” (by DOLS) is

sandwiched between the Forensic Strategy and the

Evaluation/Reporting (by DORS)

For FSNI operationally, the actual “Lab work” (by DOLS) is

sandwiched between the Forensic Strategy and the

Evaluation/Reporting (by DORS)

Crime OccursCrime Occurs

Police Attend Crime Scene


Crime Confirmed

Crime Confirmed

(S)IO Appointed

(S)IO Appointed

ForensicActivitiesat CrimeScene and follow-up locations


FSNI Expert

Crime Scene

Manager

FSNICustomerServices

Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation


Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation

TraditionalPoliceActivities


Police

Exhibits

Police Reports

The Forensic Science FlowlineThe Forensic Science Flowline

PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit

Scientific Support Manager

PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit


Facilitation




Crime Confirmed

Crime Confirmed

(S)IO Appointed

(S)IO Appointed



FSNI Expert

Crime Scene

Manager


Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation


Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation

FSNI

Secure

StorageAmbient, Chilled, Frozen, Secure

FSNI

Secure

StorageAmbient, Chilled, Frozen, SecureEvidence

Recovery Unit

Evidence Recovery

Unit

AnalyticsAnalytics

DNADNA

Lead Scientist

&

FSNI Reporting Officers

Lead Scientist

&




Police

Exhibits

Instructions & Results

PoliceRequirements

Original Itemsreturned

FSNIProposalsPolice

Reports

FSNIReports

SpecialismsSpecialisms


PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit


PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit


(S)IO (S)IO

Sub-exhibits

FilesT

R

I

A

G

E

FSNIScientific

Advice

DefenceDefence

Facilitation




Crime Confirmed

Crime Confirmed

(S)IO Appointed

(S)IO Appointed



FSNI Expert

Crime Scene

Manager


Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation


Reception

Tracking

QC

File creation

FSNI

Secure

StorageAmbient, Chilled, Frozen, Secure

FSNI

Secure

StorageAmbient, Chilled, Frozen, SecureEvidence

Recovery Unit

Evidence Recovery

Unit

AnalyticsAnalytics

DNADNA

Lead Scientist

&


Lead Scientist

&




Police

Public Prosecution ServicePublic Prosecution Service

Exhibits

Instructions & Results

PoliceRequirements

Original Itemsreturned

FSNIProposalsPolice

Reports

FSNIReports

SpecialismsSpecialisms

CourtsCourts

FSNI Expert Witness


PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit


PoliceSubmission

Control

Unit


(S)IO (S)IO

Sub-exhibits

Files

Case prep

T

R

I

A

G

E

Casework: Initial Stages

• Urgent examinations – May be required e.g. where person in custody

or to progress the early stages of an investigation.

– Results to be available within hours/days of

request

– E.g. Blood Pattern Analysis/Footwear

Comparison/ DNA Analysis/Microchemistry

– May be done at Scene or at Lab

Initial Incident Potential Assessment

• Case conference with the SIO, MCFA

• Lead Scientist with Specialists from appropriate disciplines.

• Agree potential evidence from each item

• Agree strategy for examination of each item

• Major cases may require multiple case conferences

Example Case: 4 Suspects arrested 29 March following reports of

suspicious activityHidden mortar found 5 April in area

• Items submitted to FSNI– The device:- launch tube, mortar explosives,

wiring and electricals, taping– Mobile Phones– Car in which the suspects were stopped– Tools, pliers, wires trippers, circuit tester, tapes– Batteries– Suspects’ clothing & gloves– Items from house searches– Fibres from gatepost at scene of mortar find

Mortar Case: some of the linkages

Mortar Tube +

Mortar bomb

Gloves from Suspect A

Fibres

Semtex

Jacket/Glove from car

Sem

tex

Suspect BDNA

Gatepost at scene of Mortar

find Coat from Suspect A

Fibres

Car

Paint Flakes

Semtex

Mortar: Suspects’ Clothing Examination

• Examine for paint, DNA, fibre source, explosive residues

• Specially designed clean controlled area – One person takes all samples

• Samples forwarded to specialist sections for examination

Mortar: Device Examination

• Potential bulk explosives contaminant

• Designated Clean area for Fibres/paint/DNA recovery

• Joint DNA/Fingerprint recovery with specialist lighting and chemical treatments for fingerprint visualisation

• Followed by Specialised Fingerprint visualisation techniques

• Physical determination of device function & comparison with others

Mortar Case: Forensic challenges• Explosives a major contaminant:

– Bulk sources must be confined & kept remote from clean trace areas

– Meticulous cleanliness and controls must be maintained during trace explosives recovery

• DNA must be recovered under clean conditions, in a way that preserves fingerprints and doesn’t interfere with explosives or other trace material

• Fibres and paint can drop off and be easily lost if not recovered in initial examination.

Mortar Case: Forensic challenges• SFU examination is a sequential process that

aims to allow DNA recovery yet preserve any potential fingerprints.

• Tape ends and instrument marks must be preserved for any subsequent physical fits.

• Electronic data from phones must be recovered as soon as possible to be effective for the investigation, yet its recovery must not compromise DNA/fibre/ fingerprint recovery.

DNA Recovery and Databasing

• Trace analysis at FSNI

• Comparison to suspects or search of N Ireland or National DNA database

• Discuss strategy for dealing with unidentified profiles, e.g. familial

searching?

Mortar Case: Result

• Guilty pleas by all 4 suspects

• Forensics pivotal to case outcome

• Quality, including: validation, calibration,

competence, chain of integrity and

contamination control would all have had

to withstand Defence challenge

Summary

• Forensic delivery is much more than the sum of the individual parts (the actual tests)

• Planning, sequencing, integrating and interpretation are vital

• Logistics are as critical as the science itself

• Quality system plays central role

• Integration is itself a core skill which must be maintained like any other competence

• What is the forensic cost V benefit to society and the CJS of the conviction of 4 active terrorists?

the practicalities of forensic science provision to the criminal justice system

Documents

forensic provision complex

science fs organisations

fsni work

cases murders

defence cases

police ombudsman

uk capacity

roifsnis work impacts