Forensic labs face brain drain as morale sinks
The country's foremost forensic testing laboratory is suffering a brain drain of some of the country's foremost scientists, according to sources."Scientists have left, and are leaving, the profession because of the way things are going," said a source at the Forensic Science Service (FSS). "People worked here to support the criminal justice system, to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent for the good of society. You don't feel like you are doing that any more."The FSS was once seen as a world leader, but was involved in controversy over its handling of the Rachel Nickell and Damilola Taylor murder cases, and has lost significant business as police forces carry out their own work or use cheaper, private companies. There are fears that several of its seven laboratories could be closed. Its scientists fear cuts will leave the criminal justice system badly served because the companies moving into the market...
Read the whole article on The Guardian - Science
More from The Guardian - Science
Related
- Researchers rest their case: TV consumption predicts opinions about criminal justice systemWed, 28 Oct 2009, 14:25:04 EDT
- Crime scene measurements can be taken from a single imageTue, 1 Dec 2009, 11:24:43 EST
- Fingerprint find in decade-old double murder probeThu, 4 Sep 2008, 19:29:12 EDT
- Bitemark evidence and analysis should be approached with caution, according to UB studyWed, 16 Sep 2009, 13:40:38 EDT
- 'Badly fragmented' forensic science system needs overhaulWed, 18 Feb 2009, 16:21:48 EST