Committee discusses standards and accreditation in forensic science
6 December 2018
The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee continue taking evidence for its inquiry into the UK's use of forensic science and its contribution to the delivery of justice.
Purpose of session
The session will focus on standards and accreditation in forensic science and whether the current standards used across laboratories are appropriate for the interpretation of forensic evidence.
Witnesses
Tuesday 11 December in Committee Room 4A, Palace of Westminster
At 3.25pm
- Lorraine Turner, Business Development and Technical Director, United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)
- Katherine Monnery, Forensic Accreditation Specialist, UKAS
- Sara Walton, Governance and Resilience Market Development Manager, British Standards Institution (BSI)
- Steve Brunige, Head of Industry and Government Engagement, BSI
Possible questions
- How closely do you work with the Forensic Science Regulator in setting standards and awarding accreditation?
- Would there be benefit in developing standards especially for Forensic Science?
- In written evidence we've heard that compliance with the ISO standards amongst some disciplines is currently quite low (such as fingerprints and digital forensic science). Why do you think this is?
- How do you account for the importance of experience and expertise that is necessary at every stage of the forensic process (crime scene, lab and court) as well as enforcing strong procedural standards for the analysis of specimens?