ANZPAA NIFS CHALLENGES AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE FORENSIC SCIENCES ALASTAIR ROSS AM DIRECTOR, ANZPAA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE AUSTRALIA

FORENSIC SCIENCE – CHALLENGES AND TRANSFORMATION ISSUES Identify some of the challenges facing the forensic sciences. Propose how as an international community we might implement aspects of effective transformation.*

*A life cycle metamorphosis Wikipedia

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

“Are we servants of what is or shapers of what might be”. John Gardner

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT Expensive services

Shrinking budgets THINK…DO TRANSFORMATION

New business and new ways of doing business

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT

PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences

PRODUCT EXTENSION

Where are we in the cycle?

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT

PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences

PRODUCT EXTENSION CT Scanning Molecular Autopsy

CT Scanning Molecular Autopsy INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences

PRODUCT EXTENSION

PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

DNA Electronic Evidence Drug Analogues DNA Electronic Evidence

Trace Evidence

Drug Analogues

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

PRODUCT EXTENSION

WHO?

WHAT?

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT

Policing & Security

Court & Interpretation

1200 1000 800

Forensic Effort

600 Reported

400 200

Identified

Committed to trial

Custodial sentence

0 Actual

Recorded

Charged

High-volume crime J. Ratcliffe, “Intelligence-Led Policing”, Willan, Collumpton, UK, 2008 Graph developed by O. Ribaux in Collaboration with F. Crispino and C. Roux for Aus Academy Forens Sci Conference on Interpretation, Dec 2011

Found guilty

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT Monopoly: Market situation where one producer (or a group of producers acting in concert) controls supply of a good or service, and where the entry of new producers is prevented or highly restricted. Although monopolies exist in varying degrees almost no firm has a complete monopoly in the era of globilisation. www.businessdictionary.com

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

THINK…DO TRANSFORMATION

BARRIERS TO TRANSFORMATION Silo Approach - Internal

DNA

Fingerprints

Shoe Impressions

Pathology/ Medicine

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

DNA BUILDING INFORMATION

Shoe impressions Fingerprints

ANALYSIS AND VALUE ADD

SHARING KNOWLEDGE/ INTELLIGENCE

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION Three elements:

INTELLIGENCE ELEMENT

INVESTIGATIVE ELEMENT

COURT ELEMENT

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

INTELLIGENCE

FORENSIC OUTPUT

Increasing Effect INVESTIGATION

COURT

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

INTELLIGENCE ELEMENT

INVESTIGATIVE ELEMENT

Timeliness

COURT ELEMENT

DEFAULT

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

INTELLIGENCE ELEMENT Multi-case focus: crime disruption, crime prevention and reduced fear of crime

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION INTELLIGENCE CYCLE

Planning

Evaluate result

Gather information

Timely Useful Accurate Disseminate product

Process information

Analyse and produce product

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION Intelligence element: abductive logic, mainly analogy

additional knowledge-based focus at crime scene multi-case focus appropriately qualified interim reports contribution to the criminal intelligence picture crime disruption and crime prevention.

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

INVESTIGATIVE ELEMENT Influence the focus of an investigation

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION Investigative element: identification of priorities abductive and inductive logics early elimination/implication of suspects ability to provide focus for the investigation

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

COURT ELEMENT Single case focus, expert evidence and evidence of fact – default setting

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION Court element: deductive logic – knowing H single-case focus contribution to the investigative/court brief expert evidence/evidence of fact default position because of time constraints.

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences

PRODUCT EXTENSION Intelligence Investigation

Court

Intelligence Investigation

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES Error Rate

Cognitive Bias

Collection

Accreditation /Certification Validation

Analysis

Interpretation

FORENSIC SCIENCE PROCESS

Research

Reporting

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “Decades of psychological studies have made it clear that contextual bias is a fundamental part of human decision-making rather than a moral failing…” The Durango Star

Risk Mitigation

Cognitive Bias

Identification of Risk Points

Awareness, Acknowledgement and Contextualisation

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “The simple reality is that the interpretation of forensic evidence is not always based on scientific studies to determine its validity.” NAS Report

Generic Model for disciplines where humans are the instrument

Validation

Documents and shoe/tyre marks

Development of robust studies

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “…the committee is most concerned about the knowledge base…there is no unified strategy for developing a forensic science research plan…” NAS Report

NIFS and SMANZFL Reviews

Academia

Research

Draft National Research Strategy

Capability Survey

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES

FORENSIC SCIENCES

ORGANISED CRIME Flexible, nimble, efficient, innovative, collaborative, networked and global

Are we…

Flexible, nimble, efficient, innovative, collaborative, networked and global?

BARRIERS TO TRANSFORMATION Silo approach – External

Science

Medicine

Law Enforcement

Law

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “I have been left with the deep impression that at virtually every point, and by almost everyone involved, it was handled with so little insight into the issues which it presented that no need was seen to explore (it) further… There were ample warning signs along the way that suggested that something was amiss, but they were simply not read.” The Hon. Frank Vincent AO QC 2010

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “In an adversarial system once you decide to go to trial, your interest is in prevailing. So you’re not looking to make it easier for the other side. You’re not going to find scientific truth in the adversarial process. That work has to be done by the scientists.” Judge Harry T. Edwards 2012

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES “It’s a myth to suggest that the difficulties we’re facing with the forensic disciplines are going to be corrected by the court system. The judges don’t have the expertise to do it…we don’t even know the right questions to ask. It’s not a lack of willingness; it’s that most of us are ill-informed.” Judge Harry T. Edwards 2012

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES

QUALITY SYSTEMS

SENSITIVITY

Master or servant?

Be careful what you are given!

TRANSFORMATION APPETITE Are we too averse to transformation?

QUALITY SYSTEMS

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - QUALITY

“Take appropriate steps to prevent the collision between quality and efficiency” …Mireille Hulshof

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - QUALITY

LAYER LAYER LAYER LAYER LAYER

LAYER

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - QUALITY

Accreditation: we must do what we say we do Accreditation: a viable risk mitigation strategy

GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT – QUALITY SYSTEMS

Valueadd

Quality systems

SENSITIVITY

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - SENSITITY “Arguably, the advances in technology which have enabled DNA to be extracted from infinitesimally small amounts of material and the application of Locard’s principle have increased the potential for the wrongful involvement of a person whose DNA is detected, in the suspected commission of a criminal offence” The Hon. Frank Vincent AO QC

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - SENSITITY

1

New 21 Loci DNA profiling system

2 3

New genetic analysers

New DNA mixture interpretation software

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - SENSITITY

SENSITIVITY BRANCH Be careful what you are given!

GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT - SENSITIVITY

Valueadd

Sensitivity

TRANSFORMATION APPETITE

FORENSIC SCIENCE CHALLENGES - TRANSFORMATION FORENSIC SCIENCE APPLICATION FORENSIC SCIENCE PROCESS

FORENSIC SCIENCE PRODUCT

Investigation

Intelligence Breaking down the silos Strategic partnerships

Cognitive bias Validation studies Research

FORENSIC SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT Product Life Cycle: Forensic Sciences PRODUCT/SERVICE INTEREST

PRODUCT EXTENSION

What might be?

What is?

INTRODUCTION

GROWTH

MATURITY

DECLINE

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

“If we aim at nothing we will hit it every time.” Zig Ziglar

FORENSIC SCIENCE TRANSFORMATION

CHALLENGES AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE FORENSIC SCIENCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Professor Claude Roux, Director, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney

CHALLENGES AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE FORENSIC SCIENCES THANK YOU