Department of Chemical and Forensic Sciences

SESSION 1

Forensic Science Defined

What does the word forensic actually mean and what is its origin? Can you state succinctly what science is about? After all, if you are a "forensic scientist," you should be able to state with confidence the meaning of this phrase if asked when giving expert testimony from the witness box. You probably think you know what a forensic scientist does because, after all, there appears to be no end of television programs and books in which forensic scientists "do their stuff." But do you really know what goes on both at and behind the real scenes? You should discover some of the answers to these questions in the course of this module!

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SESSION 2

The Shooting of Constable Hall 

In November 1992, PC Hall was shot at close quarters after he had attempted to apprehend two individuals believed to be involved in the transportation of a large quantity of explosive material through a London suburb. A manhunt for the individuals lead to the successful arrest of one man later the same day. The second person was not found. Was the arrested man responsible for the attempted murder of Hall and was he connected with the explosive material having a potential for use in terrorist activities? What items did the police submit for forensic examination, what items were examined and what did the Forensic Science Service, who carried out the forensic tests actually find? 

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SESSION 3

The "From Crime Scene to Court" process

This session is an overview of the from Crime scene to court process looked at from the perspective of the forensic service provider. If you were a forensic scientist, what is your involvement in this process, at the crime scene, in the laboratory and in giving expert testimony? The process can be considered in three stages each of which are described in flow-charts. 

Part 1   The activities of the police leading to the acquisition of evidence both at the scene of crime and from suspects and victims and the presentation of this physical evidence for examination to their own laboratories or the forensic laboratories. 

Part 2   The activities of the forensic scientists and other scientific agencies leading to the recovery of contact trace evidence from items submitted to the forensic laboratories and the compilation of a technical report to the client.

Part 3   The activities of the police, the forensic service providers and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in prosecuting a case through the courts.

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SESSION 4

Scientific Support and Crime Scene Examination

This session is given by personnel from the Force Training School, Scientific Support Unit of the West Yorkshire Police. In it, the role of scientific support, forensic management, of scenes of crime officers, and activities of police and forensic personnel at the scene of crime is described. The basic principles and key aspects of crime scene examination and the importance of scene preservation and recovery of physical evidence is emphasized. You are taken through cases which get you to "think forensic," that is how, from the moment a crime is reported to that when the scene is "owned" by the police, officers should be aware of how to maintain the integrity of a scene to prevent possible evidence being destroyed. Contamination issues in the crime scene process are discussed.

Important definitions are given. In the context of crime scene examination, what is the meaning of: Transfer of evidence, Persistence, Scene, Forensic contamination, Preservation, Continuity, Integrity, Disclosure?

The collaborative relationship between police scenes of crime personnel and the forensic service provider is described.

Evidence Types

There is a long list of evidence types encountered at scenes of crime. This part of the talk considers the numerous types of evidence and their value.

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SESSION 5

The Forensic Science Service

In this session, given by personnel from the Home Office Forensic Science Service Laboratories, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, you are introduced to the scope of the work routinely performed in the national laboratories dealing with volume and serious crimes. The talk tracks a case through the forensic system, from the time a scene is examined to the preparation of the expert witness statement. It covers the following issues: Using forensic science effectively, quality checks, selection of items for examination, examination of items, results and analysis, preparation of the expert witness statement.

The recovery of contact trace material such as glass and fibres from submitted items and a test for a body fluid such as blood or semen will be demonstrated to you.

Preparing for the Forensic Examination 

This session prepares you for the forensic laboratory. It begins with the idea that you are a forensic scientist in receipt of physical items and the associated submission form from the police. What is the typical range of evidence types encountered in forensic laboratories? Finger prints, impressions, tool marks, fibres, hairs, glass, paint, works of art, documents, body and physiological fluids, organs, drugs, petrochemicals, explosives and detonators, firearms/weapons, packaging and tapes, soils and minerals, vegetable matter, computer  hardware and software, vehicle components., fibres, hairs, glass, paint, works of art, documents, body and physiological fluids, organs, drugs, petrochemicals, explosives and detonators, firearms/weapons, packaging and tapes, soils and minerals, vegetable matter, computer  hardware and software, vehicle components. Which of these are individual and which are class types of physical evidence?  What analytical methods are at your disposal and which methods are appropriate and inappropriate for any given type of material? Analytical methods will fall into categories such as spectroscopic, chromatographic, electrochemical and electrophoretic, microscopic, thermal and combinations of these. What are the key aspects of the practical examination? What do you do and how do you do it? Having found contact trace material (CTM) , do you identify or compare and how, precisely do these differ? What is the significance of what you find and how do you report it and what is the precise role of the forensic scientist in reporting findings? 

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SESSION 6

Forensic Practical - Introduction to Evidence Recovery

In this practical, you will be introduced to documents of the type you will meet throughout your forensic studies, including Police Submission Forms, Criminal Justice Act (CJA) labels, and pro-forma Examination Forms. You will learn how to examine Submission Forms for completeness and for errors of fact, omission and management. You will review CJA labels in relation to issues of continuity and packaged items in relation to integrity and contamination, you will carry out examination of some types of physical evidence frequently encountered in cases of volume crime for contact trace material to establish evidence of contact, and you will write up Examination Forms for compiling Case Notes. 

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SESSION 7

Forensic Practical - The Case of Handsome and Dangerfield

In this practical, you are presented with a Police Submission Form, and items of physical evidence recovered from a scene of crime and from two suspects who have been charged with burglary. Your task will be to assess the form, the items and packaging, and the CJA labels. You must consider issues of contamination and cross contamination, the integrity of the items, the selection of items and an appropriate examination sequence. You will recover contact trace material (CTM) and complete appropriate Case Notes from which an Expert Witness Statement can be prepared.

All notes for the practical session are supplied in the forensic class

SESSION 8

From Case Notes to Expert Witness Statement - Review of the forensic practical  

In the forensic practical (Session 7) you had experience in the recovery of contact trace evidence. You will have initially examined the Submission Form to check for correctness and the complete absence of errors of fact, omission and (bad) management. You will then have considered which of the submitted items would best be examined to maximize the likelihood of answering questions in Section 13 of the Submission Form whilst minimizing cost and time and you completed Case Notes. Assuming you have a complete and accurate set of Examination Forms, you could use these to write a Statement of Witness. An Expert Witness Statement is an important document and you should know how to construct one. You will be shown the model used by the Forensic Science Service in this Session.

Review of a further Case    BD12/SAD/32

You can review your own Case Notes by reference to those completed for another case, which covers the following issues: (1) The original documentation and physical evidence - the Submission Form; (2) The Case Notes; and (3) The Expert Witness Statement (FSS).

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SESSION 9

The Expert Witness and Court Procedure

In providing a written statement, or in the case of an expert, a report, a potential witness faces the likelihood of experiencing some of the principles of law relating to Evidence and Court Procedure. Implicit in this is the possibility of giving evidence in court. This session provides you with an overview to the laws of evidence and the expert, covers both practical and legal considerations to giving expert evidence and procedures in court for the examination and cross examination of witnesses.

Using the case (Lab Ref 3a/06/97) presented in the last session, some of the class (volunteers please!) will have an opportunity to participate in role playing the expert.

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