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It is a delight to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) in this important debate. I thank the hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones) for promoting the Bill. It deals with an important matter and I welcome the constructive discussions he has had with the Government to address the long-standing and valid concerns about the regulation of forensic science. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) for his work on the matter in the previous Parliament.
I offer my condolences this morning to the police family following the death of an officer in Croydon. I have passed on my condolences to my local police commander in Leicestershire. The impact of this death will be felt country-wide.
From following crime investigations in my constituency, I know how crucial forensic science is to identifying and convicting perpetrators of some of the most violent crimes, bringing justice to victims and their families and instilling confidence in our criminal justice system. Furthermore, combined with the work of our fantastic police officers, forensic science contributes to the prevention of crime, acting as a deterrent to would-be criminals.
Over the years, crimes from burglary to murder have been solved through the excellent use of forensic science. I have been told by my local police force that they have a very good idea of who is committing a spate of crimes such as burglary, and that they just need the opportunity to prove it conclusively. Forensic science is often the route that achieves that. Constituents have greater confidence in the police and the rule of law in general when arrests lead to convictions that are backed by clear evidence—not only witness statements but forensic science, material or digital.
Indeed, it is encouraging that the latest figures from the crime survey for England and Wales estimate a significant 9% reduction in crime in the year ending March 2020, with a notable 12% fall in theft and a 13% fall in criminal damage. Although that is welcome, more needs to be done to ensure that forensics providers and police forces in England and Wales meet quality standards. As Members across the House have acknowledged, there are long-standing concerns that the UK forensics market is unstable and needs stronger regulation. The current lack of effective regulation has led to several problems, including with quality of service, instability in the private sector and the current market’s inability to invest adequately in research and development. That must be addressed if we are to continue to build public confidence in the quality of forensic evidence.
I would like to focus on one issue in particular: quality of service. I welcome the fact that dozens of police forces across England and Wales are making improvements in various areas of forensic science, including fingerprint comparison, crime scene examination and the extraction of data from digital services. However, earlier this year the Forensic Science Regulator reported that only about 30% of forces will be compliant with crime scene investigation standards by October 2020; that digital forensics compliance was likely to be worse than 20%; and that five forces still lacked accreditation for fingerprint services, despite that now being a legal requirement. Furthermore, some police forces and smaller commercial providers have consistently failed to achieve requisite accreditations across the range of forensic disciplines for their in-house facilities. That is a particular problem in digital forensics, and it has become more acute in recent years as the type of crime committed has shifted.
As the Government’s 2016 “Forensic Science Strategy” highlighted:
“Police Recorded Crime shows a long-term shift away from ‘traditional’ volume crime, such as burglary and theft from a vehicle, and an increase in offences with a digital element, such as child sexual abuse and indecent imagery offences. The shift to digital not only enables new types of crime, but also means that traditional volume crimes can be committed in ways that leave a digital as well as a physical trail.”
As such, although there has been a decline in demand for traditional forensic science such as DNA and fingerprinting, there has been a significant rise in demand for digital forensics. That is made more concerning by the fact that the accreditation of those who produce forensic evidence must be disclosed in court. The value of evidence produced by a non-compliant laboratory can be questioned by the defence, potentially jeopardising the prosecution. Despite an awareness of those issues, the current regulator has no legal authority to enforce internationally recognised standards and ensure that the quality of forensic science continues to improve.
It is imperative that the regulator can take action when it has reason to believe that forensic science activities pose a substantial risk to the course of justice. I therefore welcome the fact that the Bill would not only put a future forensics code of practice on a statutory footing but give the regulator powers to shut facilities temporarily when it has reason to believe that a person may be carrying on a forensic science activity in a way that creates a substantial risk of adversely affecting any investigation or impeding or prejudicing the course of justice.
Of course, the proposal in the Bill is not new. The Government first committed in 2016 to developing proposals to give the Forensic Science Regulator statutory powers, putting the current remit and the associated codes of practice on a statutory basis and enabling the Forensic Science Regulator to investigate non-compliance where necessary. They also supported the private Member’s Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West in the previous Parliament. Given that that Bill, unfortunately, fell due to the general election, we must now act swiftly to ensure that the commitment is fulfilled.
It is also worth noting the broad support for reform. There is consensus across the parties in the Commons and Lords Science and Technology Committees, and with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the overwhelming majority of stakeholders in forensic science.
There is a clear need to build public confidence in the quality of forensic evidence used in court proceedings to help secure convictions and bring justice to victims. I firmly believe that statutory powers will help to provide that, so I will support the Bill today.
