Fifty Years of Forensic Science (eBook)

Dr. Niamh Nic Daéid 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.

Fifty Years of Forensic Science 3
Contents 9
Preface 15
Introduction 17
SECTION I: THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FORENSIC SCIENCE 23
1 (1) - 1960 Criminal aspects of forensic science in Great Britain 24
4 (2) - 1964 Forensic science or sciences? 24
4 (4) - 1964 Shriving a science 25
5 (1) - 1965 A public image 26
5 (2) - 1965 Don’t forget them in Swahililand 26
6 (2) - 1966 The vacant headquarters 27
9 (2a) - 1969 Six just men 28
9 (2b) - 1969 “A forensic scientist?” 29
13 (3) - 1973 I hold every man a debtor to his profession 31
14 (2) - 1974 Police perimeters – politics or planning 32
17 (4) - 1977 Theory and practice 34
20 (3) - 1980 Forensic Science – a broader basis 35
21 (1) - 1981 General practice in forensic science 37
24 (6) - 1984 Does forensic science have a future? 38
24 (6) - 1985 Does forensic science have a future? 43
25 (1) - 1985 But is it anything? 44
25 (1) - 1985 But is it anything? 46
25 (5) - 1985 Towards expert experts 47
26 (2) - 1986 Doctrine, Science, Belief, Evidence 48
26 (4) - 1986 The Forensic Science Society – a way forward? 54
26 (5) - 1986 All systems go? 56
27 (2) - 1987 Police productivity 57
29 (1) - 1989 Professional qualifications – a milestone 60
30 (5) - 1990 Brave New World 61
31 (2) - 1991 “Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher” 63
31 (4) - 1991 Forensic science on the quality track 64
32 (2) - 1992 But is this being professional? 65
32 (4) - 1992 Can we help you, sir? 66
33 (3) - 1993 Is this where the buck stops? 67
34 (1) - 1994 An expert what? 68
34 (2) - 1994 Quo vadis? 69
35 (1) - 1995 Does forensic science give value for money? 70
35 (3) - 1995 Renascor 74
35 (4) - 1995 Lest we forget 75
36 (3) - 1996 Forensic futurology 75
36 (4) - 1996 Ambivalence – a problem for forensic science 76
37 (1) - 1997 Private or public 77
37 (3) - 1997 Jobs for the boys 78
38 (1) - 1998 Proactive forensic science 78
38 (4) - 1998 SOP or CPD, place your bets 80
39 (1) - 1999 Forensic apartheid? 82
39 (2) - 1999 Let me through, I’m a ummmm . . . 82
39 (3) - 1999 Something nasty hiding . . . 85
39 (4) - 1999 From Bach to Schoenberg 86
42 (2) - 2002 A professional body for forensic scientists 87
45 (1) - 2005 Professionalism – duties and privileges 89
45 (3) - 2005 Who guards the guards? 91
45 (4) - 2005 Everything changes and nothing is constant 92
47 (2) - 2007 Eight years on 93
47 (2) - 2007 Regulation of Forensic Physicians and the CRFP 95
47 (3) - 2007 CPD, an effective means of professional development. . .or is it? 96
48 (1) - 2008 President of the Forensic Science Society 98
48 (3) - 2008 The forensic science regulator 99
SECTION II: SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS AND RESEARCH 103
2 (2) - 1961 The individuality of human bloodstaining 104
3 (1) - 1962 A breakthrough in forensic science 104
4 (1) - 1963 Driving over the level 105
4 (1) - 1963 Science before the fact 107
5 (4b) - 1964 The price of road safety 107
6 (1) - 1965 Progress in research 109
7 (4) - 1966 Demanding scientific evidence 110
9 (4) - 1968 Computer control 111
11 (2) - 1971 The defeat of the tail-gater 112
11 (3) - 1971 The New Zealand approach 113
14 (1) - 1974 Back to basics 114
16 (3b) - 1976 An independent witness required 115
19 (4) - 1979 Publish or perish 116
22 (2) - 1982 But is it science . . . 116
22 (3) - 1982 Hair today . . . 117
25 (2) - 1985 On body fluid frequencies 118
26 (1) - 1986 Publish or perish revisited 119
27 (1) - 1987 Through the looking glass 120
29 (6) - 1989 The highest order common sense 121
30 (1) - 1990 Profile of the Nineties 122
30 (6) - 1990 Official publications 122
33 (4) - 1993 DNA or Abracadabra 123
36 (1) - 1996 To research or capitulate? 124
36 (2) - 1996 Fireproof DNA? 126
37 (4) - 1997 Where will all the forensic scientists go? 126
40 (1) - 2000 Wizards and gatekeepers at the roadside? 127
40 (3) - 2000 The consent of the governed 129
41 (1) - 2001 The use of material from the dead in forensic science research: is it lawful and is it ethical? 130
43 (1) - 2003 Hunting truffles 131
44 (1) - 2004 Reiterative justice? 133
45 (2) - 2005 Science & Justice – DNA and the courts
47 (4) - 2007 DNA – what’s next? 138
48 (4) - 2008 Do we value research? 139
49 (1) - 2009 Lessons from the past 140
49 (2) - 2009 IRMS 141
SECTION III: EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION OF EVIDENCE 143
19 (3) - 1979 Away with the fuzz 146
23 (1) - 1983 Patience 147
23 (1a) - 1983 Statistics and forensic science – a fruitful partnership 148
23 (1b) - 1983 The probability of exclusion or likelihood of guilt of an accused: Paternity 150
23 (1c) - 1983 The probability of non-discrimination or likelihood of guilt of an accused: Criminal Identification 156
23 (1d) - 1983 What is the probability that this blood came from that person? A meaningful question? 162
23 (1e) - 1983 A frame of reference or Garbage in, Garbage out 167
23 (4) - 1983 On circumstantial evidence 169
26 (3) - 1986 Evaluation of associative physical evidence 170
23 (3a) - 1987 The use of statistics in forensic science 173
23 (3b) - 1987 The use of statistics in forensic science 175
28 (3) - 1988 Heads we win 176
37 (2) - 1997 Does justice require less precision than chemistry? 177
43 (2) - 2003 Sally Clark – a lesson for us all 180
44 (2) - 2004 Context-free forensic science 182
46 (1) - 2006 Lies, damn lies and statistics 183
SECTION IV: EDUCATION IN FORENSIC SCIENCES 187
2 (1) - 1961 Research and teaching in forensic science 190
2 (1) - 1961 A preliminary survey of education and research in the forensic sciences in the United Kingdom 190
9 (1& 2) - 1968 Education in the forensic sciences
11 (1) - 1971 What is the future for the study and practice of the forensic sciences in Britain? 199
16 (2) - 1976 The Greeks had a word for it 200
44 (4) - 2004 Wither academic forensic science? 201
48 (2) - 2008 Educating the next generation 202
48 (4) - 2008 Letter to the Editor 205
48 (4) - 2008 Letter to the Editor 206
49 (1) - 2009 Letter to the Editor 209
SECTION V: FORENSIC SCIENCE AND THE LAW 213
1 (2) - 1960 An expert witness looks at the courts 214
3 (2) - 1962 The design of law courts 222
6 (4) - 1965 Bowlers, brollies and bi-focals 223
8 (1) - 1967 The expert witness 224
8 (2) - 1967 Two encouraging cases 225
10 (1) - 1970 Law and order 226
12 (2) - 1972 There is a time to speak 226
12 (3) - 1972 Not Pygmalion likely 229
12 (4) - 1972 Where have all the lawyers gone? 230
13 (2) - 1973 An honest opinion 236
15 (3) - 1975 Modern times 237
16 (3a) - 1976 A camel is a horse. . . 239
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 243
20 (2) - 1980 The canons of expertise 244
24 (2) - 1984 Have you heard the one about . . . 246
24 (5) - 1984 Master or servant? 247
25 (4) - 1985 Don’t Panic 248
27 (4) - 1987 Philosophy and obligations of a state-funded forensic science laboratory 249
27 (5) - 1987 Answers are easy 250
29 (2) - 1989 Science and law, a marriage of opposites 250
34 (3) - 1994 The image of the scientist and the lawyer 251
38 (2) - 1998 The role of the forensic scientist in an inquisitorial system of justice 255
40 (2) - 2000 And what of the evidence! 258
41 (3) - 2001 The boundaries of expert evidence 260
41 (4) - 2001 Reform of the criminal justice system in England and Wales 261
42 (3) - 2002 Justice in a goldfish bowl 262
42 (4) - 2002 Gristle in the sausage. . . 264
43 (3) - 2003 Coroners – what next for death investigation in England and Wales? 265
44 (3) - 2004 The Human Tissue Bill – an opportunity about to be missed? 267
46 (2) - 2006 All’s fair in love and war 269
SECTION VI: FORENSIC MEDICINE 271
5 (4a) - 1964 The smallest room but one 273
7 (3) - 1966 Decline and fall 275
10 (3) - 1970 How much specialisation in pathology can we afford? 276
12 (1) - 1972 “The six-and-a-half-year itch” 278
13 (4) - 1973 For action this day 280
14 (4) - 1974 Chair legs wanted 282
15 (2) - 1975 That muddy field 284
16 (1) - 1976 A national medico-legal service for Scotland 286
19 (1) - 1979 Sudden death of British nationals abroad – problem for pathologists, coroners and relatives 289
41 (2) - 2001 “Best value” in forensic pathology 291
42 (1) - 2002 Herding cats 292
SECTION VII: AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE 295
9 (3) - 1968 Another Academy 299
15 (4) - 1975 International co-operation in forensic science 299
17 (1) - 1977 Crime in the cornfields 301
23 (2) - 1983 Reaching out 302
24 (1) - 1984 1984 and all that 303
27 (3) - 1987 Forensic science and the justice system in the late Twentieth Century 304
29 (4) - 1989 Echoes of Empire 309
30 (2) - 1990 A matter of choice 310
30 (4) - 1990 They threatened its life with a railway share 311
38 (3) - 1998 International forensic science 311
40 (4) - 2000 Courts, politicians and constitutions 313
46 (3) - 2006 It’s a big World out there 315
Index 317