Forensic Science

A new €100 million state-of-the-art laboratory and headquarters for Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) was officially opened this morning. Justice minister Helen McEntee said the facility, which represents the largest ever capital project delivered by the Department of Justice, will "futureproof" f

Coroners have reportedly been warned to expect waits of almost six months for toxicology reports from the State Laboratory due to growing demand and a lack of resources. The State Laboratory wrote to coroners to advise that the turnaround time would increase from 110 days to 160 days "as we will not

Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) has reported that it has made significant progress with the construction of its new laboratory, which is due to open in summer 2022. Minister for justice, Heather Humphreys, with director of FSI, Chris Enright, at the FSI’s new labs in Backweston, Dublin

Digital forensics experts tend to find more or less evidence to implicate or exonerate suspects depending on the contextual information about investigations, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Oslo gave 53 digital forensics examiners from eight countries, including the UK, th

Ireland's national DNA database assisted in over 1,000 criminal cases last year, according to the latest annual report from Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). The database, which was established in 2015, contained 27,565 DNA profiles at the end of 2019, a dramatic 53 per cent increase from 17,994 in th

Plans to recruit volunteers to work in digital forensics with a major English police force have been criticised by experts as a "disaster waiting to happen". West Midlands Police has invited applications from volunteers, who would receive "hands on experience" at crime scenes and help analyse distre

A district judge has questioned whether the Forensic Science Service treats murders in Belfast as a higher priority than murders in Derry. Judge Barney McElholm, sitting in Londonderry Magistrates' Court yesterday, criticised the service over a delay in receiving forensic reports relating to a trial