Ideas beginning to sprout
Last week, I was in Brussels for the launch of the latest Framework Programme 7 security call. In amongst all the usual work proposals for activities on counter-terrorism, border controls, communications and collaboration, there are a couple of items with the “F” word in them. (calm down Mr. Ramsay – I mean Forensic, of course).
They are “Digital Forensic Capability” and “Advanced Forensic Framework”. Both topics call for exploration of methods to improve the perceived reliability of evidence, demonstrate competence of scientists and allow for greater portability of evidence from one jurisdiction to another.
As I read through the topic summaries, it struck me that forensic science may not be in quite the poor state that they seem to imply. Generally, there is an acceptance that ISO17020 & ISO17025 standards can be applied to crime scene & forensic science (through the addition of intrepetive guidance documents such as ILAC G19) and most good conventional labs are already accredited to those standards.
In England we have the Code of Conduct being produce by the Forensic Science Regulator, which serves as further clarification and it looks like the the ISO SC27 group’s work on Digital Forensic Standards (More on that when I get back from Berlin next month) may well produce something very concrete for digital forensics in the next year or two.
However, those deal with the short to medium term situation. These projects are an opportunity for the forensic science community to come together to share experiences across disciplines, involving the litigators and the investigators too, to look to the future and agree frameworks for validation of future methods. They’re also a great chance for use to take a step back and look more closely at how we train & educate our scientists, investigators and legal representatives to see if we can agree some common minimum standards which will allow evidence & professionals to move more freely around Europe, if not the world. If we can reach agreement, we can reduce time and cost wasted in dealing with material which should either never exist, or is completely non-contentious.
Best of all, it’s a requirement that any project proposals must involve several countries and the very nature of these projects means that they will be multi-disciplinary too. Even if we don’t get the money (I have two outlines circulating for comments already – email me if you would like to get involved), there are some great opportunities to establish new partnerships just through the bidding process.
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Forensically sound(ing off) 