‘Smart Forensics’ one-day conference on Thursday 19th April 2012 at the University of Leicester
Nottinghamshire’s Deputy Chief Constable Chris Eyre will address a gathering of the UK’s top forensic scientists, academics, police managers and government officials when they come together in Leicester to discuss innovative and efficient ways to solve crime. As police budget cuts bite, and the national Forensic Science Service is closed, forces across the country are eager to maintain a high level of crime detection. The one-day event is being hosted by the Department of Engineering, which is one of the university departments heavily engaged in forensic science research and innovation, and will allow delegates to consider new, creative ways of working together.
DCC Eyre will speak in his capacity as the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) national lead for forensic procurement and national ACPO lead for forensic market place management. He is currently overseeing the transition of Forensic Science Services to alternative suppliers to ensure the stability of the national forensic market services. This is especially important given the role forensics play in solving not only serious crime but also volume crime.
Dr John Bond OBE, former head of Northamptonshire’s forensic science department and now a senior lecturer in Chemistry at the University is hopeful that significant collaborations will be forged as a result of sharing best practice: “Future success in this area is likely to be closely tied to projects that can demonstrate genuine collaboration between the police and academics and show real value for money benefits in terms of solving crime which, after all, is the aim of forensic science.
“It is now time to encourage and develop closer links between police forces wishing to innovate in order to maintain or improve their performance with less funding, and academics with the skills and knowledge to enable them to do so.”
One way to advance this collaboration, practiced for some time at the University of Leicester, is to set up formal agreements to work with police forces to identify areas for future development. Recent examples of this at the University include research into stab injuries undertaken by the Department of Engineering and new methods of fingerprint enhancement by the Department of Chemistry that have received international acclaim and innovation awards. In collaboration with Northamptonshire Police, the University developed revised criteria for Crime Scene Examiner attendance at crime scenes that resulted in a significant increase in crimes detected with forensic science.
Joining Deputy Chief Constable Chris Eyre on the platform will be Professor Bernard Silverman, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office, Chief Inspector Mick Stamper of the Northamptonshire force and Professor Guy Rutty, Head of the East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, University Hospitals of Leicester.
ENDS
For more information and booking:
go.le.ac.uk/smartforensics
Media contact:
Louise Third on 0115 912 4350 / 07773 288342
louise@integracommunications.co.uk
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