Prelims

Karen McGregor Richmond (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Marketisation and Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales

ISBN: 978-1-83909-124-7, eISBN: 978-1-83909-123-0

Publication date: 14 November 2022

pdf (1 MB) ePub (257 KB)

Citation

Richmond, K.M. (2022), "Prelims", Marketisation and Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xii. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-123-020221010

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Half Title Page

Marketisation and Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales

Title Page

Marketisation and Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales

BY

KAREN MCGREGOR RICHMOND

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83909-124-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-123-0 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-125-4 (Epub)

Dedication Page

This work is dedicated to my father, Gordon Black Richmond.

List of Abbreviations		xi
Preface and Acknowledgements		xii
Chapter 1: The Forensic Market		1
	Introduction	1
	Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales	3
	Marketisation and Privatisation in England and Wales	4
	Forensic Science Marketisation and Privatisation	5
	Forensic Science Provision in Northern Ireland	8
	Police Force Forensic Science Provision in the UK	12
Chapter 2: Forensic-Scientific Processes		17
	DNA and Epistemological Privilege	17
	Probability and Statistical Evidence in Criminal Proceedings	21
	Standardisation through Probabilistic Evidence Techniques	22
	The CAI Method	27
Chapter 3: Exploring the Forensic Field		33
	Methods	34
	Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Forensic-Scientific Knowledge	40
	STS and Studies of Expertise and Experience (SEE)	47
	The Common Origins of Law and Science	48
	Auopoiesis and the Systems Theory of Interdisciplinary Knowledge	51
Chapter 4: The Commodification of Forensic Science		53
	Chapter Summary	53
	Introduction	54
	Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales	55
	Economic Rationalisation in the UK	56
	The FSS: Transition and Closure	56
	Restructuring and DNA Analysis	57
	The Forensic Science Market	60
	Procurement and the National Forensic Framework Agreement (NFFA)	61
	The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)/NFFA	64
	Forensic Productisation – Implementation and Resistance	64
	Triaging of Forensic Investigations	67
	Conclusion	70
Chapter 5: Constructing Forensic Expertise		73
	Chapter Summary	73
	Pre-codification Forensic Analyses within the Public Sector	74
	Triaging and the Privileging of DNA-profiling Techniques	75
	Case Fragmentation and Quoting	78
	Mixtures and Low-Template DNA	80
	Commercialisation and the Restructuring of Forensic Expertise	83
	Triaging and Forensic Science Provision in the Public Sector	88
	The Contest and Communication Narrative – Silos and Transfer of Expertise	96
	Interdisciplinary Theories of Expertise	97
Chapter 6: Swift and Sure Justice?		103
	Chapter Summary	103
	SFR and Abbreviated (or ‘Staged’) Forensic Reporting	104
	Background: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Efficiency Programme	106
	CrimPR	108
	Supporting Case Law	109
	SFR – Outline	110
	Lawfulness of SFR Under the European Union (EU) Directives	125
	Conclusion	128
Chapter 7: Objectivity – ‘The View from Nowhere’		129
	Chapter Summary	129
	The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR)	130
	FSR’s Regulatory Responsibilities: International Standards	131
	Accreditation	131
	Professional and Commercial Standards	132
	Forensics Procurement Framework	132
	Forensic Regulator’s Code of Practice and Conduct and Investigation of Complaints	132
	Quality Assurance and Daubert Criteria	133
	Regulation and the ‘Enhanced Daubert’ Criteria	136
	Accreditation and DNA Profiling	137
	DNA Profiling and the Declaration of ‘Non-compliance’	137
	Regulatory Objectivity	139
	The Normative Basis of Forensic Science	145
Chapter 8: From Biological Substrate to Digital Analyte		147
	Chapter Summary	147
	Research Challenges: DNA Mixtures, Transfer, and Persistence	148
	DNA Mixtures, Transfer, and Persistence	149
	Summary of Conclusions	154
	Standardisation	155
	Expertise	156
	Efficiency	157
	Regulation and Autonomy	158
	Contribution of this Study to the Literature	160
	From Biological Substrate Towards Digital Analyte	160
References		163
	Government Reports and Regulatory Guidance	164
	Legislation and Cases	164
Index		165

List of Abbreviations

CAI	Case Assessment and Interpretation
CJINI	Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland
CJS	Criminal Justice System
DNA	Deoxyribonucleic Acid
EGPS	Early Guilty Plea Scheme
ERU	Evidence Recovery Unit
FSNI	Forensic Science Northern Ireland
FSP	Forensic Science Provider
FSR	Forensic Science Regulator
FSS	Forensic Science Service
LCN-DNA	Low Copy Number DNA
NDNAD	National DNA Database
NIDNAD	Northern Ireland DNA Database
PSNI	Police Service of Northern Ireland
RMP	Random Match Probability
SFR	Streamlined Forensic Reporting

Preface and Acknowledgements

The boundaries between this book and my ongoing research are not so rigidly demarcated that I can easily list those to whom I owe thanks. It would not have been possible without the engagement of staff at Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and Dundee, universities in Scotland, and research projects within the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Sciences, Technical University Graz, and my current institution, iCourts (the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence in International Courts, University of Copenhagen). I am grateful for their encouragement.

Special thanks, however, are due to Dame Professor Sue Black, Vice Chancellor at Lancaster University and Senior Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, for setting me on the right track; to Professor Nicolette Priaulx of Cardiff University for her continued inspiration; and to Professor Mikkel Jarle Christensen of University of Copenhagen, for opening new doors.

For their enduring interest, and enthusiastic participation in my research, I am grateful to: the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Metropolitan Police, and the Office for the Forensic Regulator. Thanks also to the Scottish Police Authority, Scottish Institute for Policing Research, and the Faculty of Advocates. Greatest thanks are due to the staff of the forensic science providers in all four corners of the UK for sharing so freely of their time and expert knowledge.

I am likewise grateful to fellow doctoral students, researchers, and academics for the encouragement and engagement they offered, having enlisted their help in reading – and commenting on – early drafts and research papers. Thanks also to the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, the Law and Society Association, the Socio-Legal Studies Association, the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, and the Society of Legal Scholars, for helping me to disseminate my research. And I owe a special debt to all those who took an interest in this project and who attended workshops and conferences to hear me speak about the results of my research.

The greatest thanks must go to my father, Gordon Black Richmond, who passed away before this book could be published, but who never doubted my potential, and whose hard work, resilience, and faith continue to inspire me. This work is dedicated to him.

Book Chapters

Prelims

Chapter 1: The Forensic Market

Chapter 2: Forensic-Scientific Processes

Chapter 3: Exploring the Forensic Field

Chapter 4: The Commodification of Forensic Science

Chapter 5: Constructing Forensic Expertise

Chapter 6: Swift and Sure Justice?

Chapter 7: Objectivity – ‘The View from Nowhere’

Chapter 8: From Biological Substrate to Digital Analyte

References

Index