Preface Free

It was 26 years ago when the first edition of Crime Scene to Court – The Essentials of Forensic Science was published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to support my (PW) teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as no suitable teaching text covering the UK legal system was available. At the outset it was deemed important that forensic practitioners should contribute chapters on their own particular discipline and written at a level suitable for students and the lay person. Apart from being adopted as a core forensic science textbook by many universities both in the UK and overseas, the book has since gained a much wider readership with it being used by crime scene officers, forensic scientists, police and the legal profession for both training and reference purposes. It has also gathered interest from the lay readership.

Such was the success of this book that the second edition was published in 2004. This provided the opportunity to increase the number of disciplines and monitor changes taking place in the delivery of a forensic science service in the UK. For similar reasons the third edition was published in 2010 and a fourth edition in 2016. Through each of these editions, authors were requested to retain as much as possible of their introductory and historical material so that readers did not have to refer back to previous editions or other publications. Additionally, Bibliographies were used as a means to provide a reader with more in depth and/or recent knowledge.

In 2022 the RSC discussed with me (PW) the possibility of a fifth edition. Readers of the fourth edition would have seen that I indicated that it would be my last edition as the editor and was to enjoy retirement. Having kept professional interests going and staying in touch with colleagues, I believed that with on-going changes and challenges in providing a forensic science service still prevailing, there should be another edition and agreed to set up and edit this next edition. This required making some major changes due to a number of the previous authors retiring and finding their suitable replacements, a reorganisation of the sequence of the chapters and the inclusion of one new chapter namely, Forensic Collision Investigation by Mark Crouch. Inclusion of this chapter not only extends the range of forensic disciplines being covered but also shows students that a working knowledge and interest in physics and mathematics is required if wanting to pursue a career within this area of forensic science.

Some of the retiring authors have contributed to all the previous editions and I would like to thank them for all their time and support. Four chapters have had to be rewritten completely by the new authors and include, Fire Investigation by Iain Peck, Trace and Contact Evidence by Sarah Jacob, Body Fluids by Caroline Crawford and Claire Jarman and Forensic Examination of Documents and Handwriting by Anthony Stockton. There have also been new co-authors for Forensic Science – Rachel Bolton-King, Digital Forensics – Benjamin Donnachie and for Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology – Lucina Hackman. Again, as with previous editions all of these new authors are respected practitioners thus ensuring readers benefit from the knowledge and experience of their particular forensic discipline. I would also like to thank the other previous authors for continued support and updating of their chapters.

A comment made by a reviewer also prompted a change in the sequence of chapters in this edition so that they were more aligned with the route of crime scene investigation through laboratory analysis and attending court. Interestingly, this also resulted in a group of chapters that are concerned broadly with identification of an individual, an important role in the judicial process as with no suspect any legal procedure cannot be completed. There was some difficulty in grouping of the other chapters as most disciplines require both scene of crime investigation as well as laboratory analysis. These were therefore grouped according to their level of crime scene or laboratory activity.

Sadly, after putting all this in place and editing a couple of chapters, I was unable to continue my editing duties due to requiring a second major spinal operation and sought another editor to assist and take over completion of this edition. I am delighted that Professor Niamh NicDaeid agreed to undertake this task. Niamh started her forensic career with me in the Forensic Science Unit at the University of Strathclyde and became a member of my staff when I was appointed as the Director of the Unit. Having developed an excellent and extensive forensic science research record coupled with considerable case work experience, Niamh is now the Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee. With funding from the Leverhulme Trust, the strategic aim of her work is to support the evidence presented in courts with robust scientific data and hence heads up a leading forensic science research centre which has many national and international contacts and collaborations – I therefore believe Niamh is an ideal person to take over as the editor.

Again, as identified in chapters here and in all previous editions, the provision of a forensic science service in the UK is still changing and developing. The definition of forensic science, who delivers it, quality control of working and reporting standards, sustainability of a forensic service, including research, are just some of the issues that are being reviewed. These issues are discussed in more detail in the introductory chapter and other authors have identified where these changes have affected their particular discipline. An additional factor has been living and working through Covid 19 with all industries, including the providers of the forensic science service, having to make changes to their working practices. Crime scene investigation, laboratory work and court procedures were all affected. As commented upon in some chapters this required new working practices and procedures to be implemented to investigate scenes, reduce backlogs in laboratory work and delays in court work. Any change of procedures was required to meet previous or modified operational standards and as now no longer under lock down, some of the these modified standards are still being adopted.

Looking back to when Home Office Laboratories and my previous employer, the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory, were providing the majority of the forensic service as identified in the first edition of this book, it may appear that the provision of this service has become fragmented and more bureaucratic. There may be a modicum of truth in this statement if just considering the wide range of practitioners and disciplines that now contribute to and provide our current forensic science service and how they are managed. However, no matter who or how this service is delivered, it must meet public expectations, inspire confidence and strive to ensure no miscarriages of justice. Through the Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021 there are now statutory powers for any forensic science service to comply with the Regulator’s Code of Practice and Conduct for Forensic Service Providers and Practitioners which should help to inspire confidence. Interestingly, in 2023, a Westminster commission had been set up to focus on risks posed by current provision that may contribute to miscarriages of justice. Hopefully there will be some positive outcomes and we hope they will inspire public confidence in the legal system and those who provide a forensic contribution. Perhaps readers will find out more if there were to be another edition of this book.

Finally, we would just like to thank all the authors and the RSC publishing team for all their help and support in making this fifth edition possible. We hope the book will continue to assist and be a benefit to undergraduate and postgraduate students in their forensic courses and anyone pursuing careers within the judicial system. In closing, PW would just like to thank Janet Freshwater at the RSC, with whom he has worked with since the first edition and most importantly to Niamh for taking over the editorship of this book.

Peter White

ReForensics, PO Box 1208, Lincoln, UK

Niamh NicDaeid

University of Dundee, UK