Fifty Years of Forensic Science – A Commentary

Dr. Niamh Nic Daeid has over 20 years experience as a forensic scientist and expert witness.?Her specialist areas include fire investigation, drug analysis and the statistical and Bayesian evaluation and evidence. She has published and delivered over 80 research papers and presentations in international journals and at conferences. She is a lead assessor for CRFP and a member of a number of ENFSI working groups.?Her current areas of research include drug profiling, fire investigation and the statistical interpretation of data.

Preface Introduction SECTION I: THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FORENSIC SCIENCE 1 (1) - 1960 Criminal aspects of forensic science in Great Britain 4 (2) - 1964 Forensic science or sciences? 4 (4) - 1964 Shriving a science 5 (1) - 1965 A public image 5 (2) - 1965 Don't forget them in Swahililand 6 (2) - 1966 The vacant headquarters 9 (2a) - 1969 Six just men 9 (2b) - 1969 "A forensic scientist?" 13 (3) - 1973 I hold every man a debtor to his profession 14 (2) - 1974 Police perimeters - politics or planning 17 (4) - 1977 Theory and practice 20 (3) - 1980 Forensic Science - a broader basis 21 (1) - 1981 General practice in forensic science 24 (6) - 1984 Does forensic science have a future? 24 (6) - 1985 Does forensic science have a future? 25 (1) - 1985 But is it anything? 25 (1) - 1985 But is it anything? 25 (5) - 1985 Towards expert experts 26 (2) - 1986 Doctrine, Science, Belief, Evidence 26 (4) - 1986 The Forensic Science Society - a way forward? 26 (5) - 1986 All systems go? 27 (2) - 1987 Police productivity 29 (1) - 1989 Professional qualifications - a milestone 30 (5) - 1990 Brave New World 31 (2) - 1991 "Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher" 31 (4) - 1991 Forensic science on the quality track 32 (2) - 1992 But is this being professional? 32 (4) - 1992 Can we help you, sir? 33 (3) - 1993 Is this where the buck stops? 34 (1) - 1994 An expert what? 34 (2) - 1994 Quo vadis? 35 (1) - 1995 Does forensic science give value for money? 35 (3) - 1995 Rensacor 35 (4) - 1995 Lest we forget 36 (3) - 1996 Forensic futurology 36 (4) - 1996 Ambivalence - a problem for forensic science 37 (1) - 1997 Private or public 37 (3) - 1997 Jobs for the boys 38 (1) - 1998 Proactive forensic science 38 (4) - 1998 SOP or CPD, place your bets 39 (1) - 1999 Forensic apartheid? 39 (2) - 1999 Let me through, I'm a ummmm ... 39 (3) - 1999 Something nasty hiding ... 39 (4) - 1999 From Bach to Schoenberg 42 (2) - 2002 A professional body for forensic scientists 45 (1) - 2005 Professionalism - duties and privileges 45 (3) - 2005 Who guards the guards? 45 (4) - 2005 Everything changes and nothing is constant 47 (2) - 2007 Eight years on 47 (2) - 2007 Eight years on - Regulation of Forensic Physicians and the CRFP 47 (3) - 2007 CPD, an effective means of professional development...or is it? 48 (1) - 2008 President of the Forensic Science Society 48 (3) - 2008 The forensic science regulator SECTION II: SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS AND RESEARCH 2 (2) - 1961 The individuality of human bloodstaining 3 (1) - 1962 A breakthrough in forensic science 4 (1) - 1963 Driving over the level 4 (1) - 1963 Science before the fact 5 (4b) - 1964 The price of road safety 6 (1) - 1965 Progress in research 7 (4) - 1966 Demanding scientific evidence 9 (4) - 1968 Computer control 11 (2) - 1971 The defeat of the tail-gater 11 (3) - 1971 The New Zealand approach 14 (1) - 1974 Back to basics 16 (3b) - 1976 An independent witness required 19 (4) - 1979 Publish or perish 22 (2) - 1982 But is it science ... 22 (3) - 1982 Hair today ... 25 (2) - 1985 On body fluid frequencies 26 (1) - 1986 Publish or perish revisited 27 (1) - 1987 Through the looking glass 29 (6) - 1989 The highest order common sense 30 (1) - 1990 Profile of the Nineties 30 (6) - 1990 Official publications 33 (4) - 1993 DNA or Abracadabra 36 (1) - 1996 To research or capitulate? 36 (2) - 1996 Fireproof DNA? 37 (4) - 1997 Where will all the forensic scientists go? 40 (1) - 2000 Wizards and gatekeepers at the roadside? 40 (3) - 2000 The consent of the governed 41 (1) - 2001 The use of material from the dead in forensic science research: is it lawful and is it ethical? 43 (1) - 2003 Hunting truffles 44 (1) - 2004 Reiterative justice? 45 (2) - 2005 Science & Justice - DNA and the courts 47 (4) - 2007 DNA - what's next? 48 (4) - 2008 Do we value research? 49 (1) - 2009 Lessons from the past 49 (2) - 2009 IRMS SECTION III: EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION OF EVIDENCE 19 (3) - 1979 Away with the fuzz 23 (1) - 1983 Patience 23 (1a) - 1983 Statistics and forensic science - a fruitful partnership 23 (1b) - 1983 The probability of exclusion or likelihood of guilt of an accused: Paternity 23 (1c) - 1983 The probability of non-discrimination or likelihood of guilt of an accused: Criminal Identification 23 (1d) - 1983 What is the probability that this blood came from that person? A meaningful question? 23 (1e) - 1983 A frame of reference or Garbage in, Garbage out 23 (4) - 1983 On circumstantial evidence 26 (3) - 1986 Evaluation of associative physical evidence 26 (3a) - 1987 The use of statistics in forensic science. 26 (3b) - 1987 The use of statistics in forensic science. 28 (3) - 1988 Heads we win 37 (2) - 1997 Does justice require less precision than chemistry? 43 (2) - 2003 Sally Clark - a lesson for us all 44 (2) - 2004 Context-free forensic science 46 (1) - 2006 Lies, damn lies and statistics SECTION IV: EDUCATION IN FORENSIC SCIENCES 2 (1) - 1961 Research and teaching in forensic science 2 (1) - 1961 A preliminary survey of education and research in the forensic sciences in the United Kingdom 9 (1&2) - 1968 Education in forensic science 11 (1) - 1971 What is the future for the study and practice of the forensic sciences in Britain? 16 (2) - 1976 The Greeks had a word for it 44 (4) - 2004 Wither academic forensic science? 48 (2) - 2008 Educating the next generation 48 (4) - 2008 Educating the next generation. 48 (4) - 2008 Educating the next generation. 49 (1) - 2009 Educating the next generation. SECTION V: FORENSIC SCIENCE AND THE LAW 1 (2) - 1960 An expert witness looks at the courts 3 (2) - 1962 The design of law courts 6 (4) - 1965 Bowlers, brollies and bi-focals 8 (1) - 1967 The expert witness 8 (2) - 1967 Two encouraging cases 10 (1) - 1970 Law and order 12 (2) - 1972 There is a time to speak 12 (3) - 1972 Not Pygmalion likely 12 (4) - 1972 Where have all the lawyers gone? 13 (2) - 1973 An honest opinion 15 (3) - 1975 Modern times 16 (3a) - 1976 A camel is a horse... 17 (2&3) - 1977 The four letter swear word 18 (3&4) - 1978 Not for the faint hearted 19 (2) - 1979 Preliminary hearings - just or unjust - justified or unjustified 20 (2) - 1980 The canons of expertise 24 (2) - 1984 Have you heard the one about ... 24 (5) - 1984 Master or servant? 25 (4) - 1985 Don't Panic 27 (4) - 1987 Philosophy and obligations of a state-funded forensic science laboratory 27 (5) - 1987 Answers are easy 29 (2) - 1989 Science and law, a marriage of opposites 34 (3) - 1994 The image of the scientist and the lawyer 38 (2) - 1998 The role of the forensic scientist in an inquisitorial system of justice 40 (2) - 2000 And what of the evidence! 41 (3) - 2001 The boundaries of expert evidence 41 (4) - 2001 Reform of the criminal justice system in England and Wales 42 (3) - 2002 Justice in a goldfish bowl 42 (4) - 2002 Gristle in the sausage... 43 (3) - 2003 Coroners - what next for death investigation in England and Wales? 44 (3) - 2004 The Human Tissue Bill - an opportunity about to be missed? 46 (2) - 2006 All's fair in love and war SECTION VI: FORENSIC MEDICINE 5 (4a) - 1964 The smallest room but one 7 (3) - 1966 Decline and fall 10 (3) - 1970 How much specialisation in pathology can we afford? 12 (1) - 1972 "The six-and-a-half-year itch" 13 (4) - 1973 For action this day 14 (4) - 1974 Chair legs wanted 15 (2) - 1975 That muddy field 16 (1) - 1976 A national medico-legal service for Scotland 19 (1) - 1979 Sudden death of British nationals abroad - problem for pathologists, coroners and relatives 41 (2) - 2001 "Best value" in forensic pathology 42 (1) - 2002 Herding cats SECTION VII: AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE 9 (3) - 1968 Another Academy 15 (4) - 1975 International co-operation in forensic science 17 (1) - 1977 Crime in the cornfields 23 (2) - 1983 Reaching out 24 (1) - 1984 1984 and all that 27 (3) - 1987 Forensic science and the justice system in the late Twentieth Century 29 (4) - 1989 Echoes of Empire 30 (2) - 1990 A matter of choice 30 (4) - 1990 They threatened its life with a railway share 38 (3) - 1998 International forensic science 40 (4) - 2000 Courts, politicians and constitutions 46 (3) - 2006 It's a big World out there Index