'Game-changing' centre of forensic excellence opens at Cranfield
A new forensic science “centre of excellence” has been opened at Cranfield University to boost the role science plays in the criminal justice system.
The state-of-the-art facilities at Cranfield Forensic Institute (CFI) target the fields of crime scene investigation, digital forensic investigation and forensic materials analysis and others.
The institute, officially opened by Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, will enable the transfer of the latest leading academic knowledge to criminal investigators and training the next generation of forensic scientists.
The facility was created in part in response to a May 2019, a report by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, which highlighted a critical national shortfall in forensic science research and development.
The university said it hoped the new facilities would prove to be game-changing for the nation’s capabilities and greatly enhance the UK’s position in these fields.
Students and staff will have access to a virtual reality autopsy table, a digital forensics laboratory, crime scene investigation rooms and a simulated mass grave excavation site.
Earlier this month, the university announced a strategic partnership with digital forensic practitioners CCL Solutions Group. CCL and Cranfield have partnered to create a new MSc in Digital Forensics and are working on a number of research proposals to address emerging issues and opportunities in the field.
More than 90 per cent of crime is now recognised as having a digital element and the Government has stated that digital forensic science sits at the heart of delivering justice in the 21st century, spanning the entire criminal justice system from crime scene to courtroom.
The new MSc will seek to address the academically orientated operational needs of UK policing and serious skills shortage of educated and trained individuals in the field.
Professor Andrew Shortland, director of the Cranfield Forensic Institute, said: “Forensic science plays a critical part in the criminal justice system and we are proud to be playing our part in enhancing the nation’s capabilities in this field.
“The investment in these new technologies will create unparalleled facilities for our students and staff, as we develop the next generation of forensic scientists and, through our research, expand the possibilities of forensic science.
“Together with our partnership with CCL, these facilities have the potential to transform the UK’s forensic science education and research.”
