With the demise of the Forensic ScienceService (FSS), police forces across the UKhave had to use alternative companies tocomplete their forensic work for them.With highly complicated and vital tasks

needing completion, many forces use these companies tocomplete the identification and analysis required to beable to effectively deal with complex crime scenes such asmurders and, in the current climate, it can be expensive todo so.

However, Lancashire Constabulary has managed to find away to improve its own forensic provision and keep in-house many of the tasks that other forces outsource.

This has several advantages: the cost of conducting foren-sic work falls for the force, forensic experts are able toattend crime scenes sooner and are able to conduct forensicexaminations for crimes that would otherwise be difficultor expensive.

As a result, the force has become the first in the UK – out-side the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which runs theLondon Forensic Science Service Laboratory – to offer awide range of biological search, recovery and screeningservices and has managed to gain accreditation from theUnited Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which isinternationally recognised for many of the services it pro-vides. It is also hoping to receive accreditation for its finger-printing facilities in the autumn.

The accreditation is an independent recognition of confi-dence in the facilities and will be necessary to comply withincoming European legislation for forensics services thatwill affect all forces.

Lancashire Constabulary currently has accreditation forthe search and recovery of body fluid and tissue samples,as well as other materials that could provide evidence incourt. It can run crime scene investigation, fingerprintanalysis, forensic analysis, digital forensics and footprintanalysis. This means that it can provide evidence for courtsand expert testimony in cases brought to trial – all withouthaving to bring people in from outside the force.

Dr Kath Mashiter, the head of scientific support at Lan-cashire Constabulary, talked to Police Professional about some

of the advances the forensics department there has achieved.“We do all of our own footwear work and there is no need

to use an external forensics provider for that. We have adrugs laboratory that is self-sufficient,” she explained. “Inrelation to general case work, the items we have come intous are screened and only those that are positive for forensicevidence are sent away for analysis.

“We also screen and recover DNA, fibres, hairs and partic-ulates. We have attained accreditation for our body fluidunit in order to comply with the new European rulingwhich will take effect next year. We hope to have accredita-tion for the fingerprint laboratory functions by the end ofthis year which is a European mandate that will come intoplay in 2015.”

The scientific support team that has been created at Lan-cashire includes former members of the FSS, allowing it to

complete a wider range of services. While the force doesnot carry out the analysis of the forensic evidence it recov-ers, it does cut costs and time via the identification andrecovery of evidence. This has made Lancashire a leadforce for forensic services in the UK.

They currently have eight people working in the forensicteam plus the manager. However, full analysis of forensicevidence is currently done outside the force due to the costof the equipment and the expertise required. The onlyother force that carries out such a wide range of forensicservices is the MPS.

Accreditation therefore serves as an acknowledgmentthat what Lancashire is doing is highly regarded and tech-nically proficient.

“To create internal forensic services you have to have aquality management system in place,” said Dr Mashiter.“This includes the requirement for proficiency tests, docu-mented training records and evidence of competent staff.Every single process is looked at and all methods have to be

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As the forensics provider market rapidly changed, LancashireConstabulary took the lead by in-sourcing initial examinations,becoming the first outside of London to be accredited by UKAS.

Executive feature

We are saving more than £500,000 ayear by doing the forensic work in-house. We also provide a rapid service.

Accreditable in-sourcing

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validated. You then basically end up with an accreditation‘badge and T-shirt’ that demonstrates the standards youhave achieved. One of the key reasons for the furtherexpansion of their services was the closure of the FSS. Theforensic marketplace virtually shrank overnight. In orderto take on this work it was important to prove that we werecarrying out work to the same standards demanded of anycommercial provider.”

To achieve a truly outstanding forensic department, Lan-cashire has brought together a potent mix of supportiveleadership, strong funding and skilled personnel to ensurethat the facilities they have can be accredited and becomenationally renowned.

“We could not have achieved our current position withoutthe encouragement and confidence of our senior team. Thechief officers team has supported us in achieving our goalsand it has recognised the need to invest in the forensicsdepartment in order to achieve savings,” said Dr Mashiter.

“In relation to our recent expansion, if we had left it sixmonths longer, many of the people who were leaving theFSS would have gone elsewhere. The chief officers teamsupported my business proposal and allowed recruitmentat a critical time; timing was of the essence.

“It is hard work to build a department like this; we havefantastic staff here but all have been carefully selected. Youneed to get the right people in the right jobs and you need totake it very seriously.”

In-house benefitsThe benefits of carrying out forensic work in-house aremultitude. First, there are the financial savings to be madeby carrying out forensics within the force rather than rely-ing on outside companies. This means that Lancashire canincrease savings in a time of austerity while maintainingand improving upon the services that they currently have.By receiving accreditation, it can show that its provision offorensics is equal to that of private companies and otherorganisations that provide forensic work to other forces.

“We are saving more than £500,000 a year by doing theforensic work in-house. We also provide a rapid service.Forensic teams can get to a scene, almost anywhere in thecounty, in half an hour, it would be hard to get that with anoutside provider where travel time can be significant,” saidDr Mashiter.

The time it takes to attend scenes and collect evidencealso makes this particular department valuable for theforce. Delays can mean evidence is lost (especially in out-

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Dr Kath Mashiter –forensic teams canget to a scene,almost anywhere inthe county, in halfan hour, it would behard to get thatwith an outsideprovider wheretravel time can besignificant.

door crime scenes) whereas having the forensics teambased locally means they can be on the scene quickly andretrieve the necessary information, using this to inform thepolice investigation as soon as humanly possible.

The ease of access to the forensics services also enablesthe police to have dedicated forensic resources allocated tocrimes that previously may not have had such support.While serious crimes (murder, rape, etc) would almostalways require a forensics team, less serious crimes, whereforensic evidence is recoverable, can now receive a higherlevel of forensic response – a better service for the localpopulation.

As a result of these changes, the Lancashire forensicsteam held an open day in July to allow other forces to seewhat they had achieved in relation to accreditation. Repre-sentatives from 26 other forces attended to see the facilitiesand share forensic expertise.

“With the accreditation situation, we had so much inter-est from other forces that we decided to have an open day.We invited forces to come along to see the facilities andanswer any questions they had about what we haveachieved,” said Dr Mashiter.

The day allowed forces to share ideas and learn from Lan-cashire’s experiences. The speed of Lancashire’s accredita-tion is unprecedented and many lessons have been learntthat other forces can benefit from and which will make theroad to accreditation easier for them.

Dr Mashiter felt that the day had been informative.“Forces cannot underestimate the hard work required fromall involved; also the commitment and the need for strongleadership and support from the managers,” she said. “Itcan be difficult to start a forensics department from scratch,especially if staff do not have a forensic background.

“After we attain accreditation for the fingerprint labora-tory I think we will take a rest and take stock before wedecide where we should go next.

“There are many other things going on at a national levelwhich need a great deal of commitment and on which wemust concentrate our efforts. It is an ongoing process tomaintain your accreditation but it is a relief to have someof the pressure of gaining the accreditation in these keyareas behind us.”

In an age of outsourcing, being able to achieve so much,as well as earning monetary savings for the force, withinthe force boundaries is a real achievement for Lancashire.And, with an international class service like this, the peo-ple of Lancashire are bound to be happy too.

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