Forensic scientist
Advances should mean more crimes solved quicker
The advances of science will help unlock the mysteries of more crime scenes in the future, according to one expert on the forensic frontline
Hayley Quigg, who works for the Scottish Police Authority, which provides technical back-up services to police, said DNA profiles can now be extracted from ever-smaller samples and pointed to mobile units as a means of providing possible instant DNA matches at crime scenes in the near future.
Speeding the process up, so that DNA could be matched at the scene of a crime, could provide investigators with vital leads in the so-called golden hours immediately following a crime.
Hayley said: “We can now obtain a DNA profile from smaller samples including those not even visible to the naked eye.
“Just five years ago we were using a system where we looked at 10 parts of a DNA sample. Now it’s over 20 and the advances mean we can get a DNA profile from smaller samples than before.
“The technology is constantly advancing but one area where I think there may be significant progress in the near future is in mobile working.
“The way we work is about prioritisation and for major inquiries we can conduct analysis of samples quite quickly.
“Even top priority cases can be forced to wait 24 hours at the moment while samples are analysed and checked against the national database. We are always looking to speed things up to assist investigations.”
Funding has already been allocated to develop mobile working to potentially allow scientists at crime scenes to connect straight into the Scottish DNA database.
Hayley joined the SPA as a production officer, dealing with evidence samples, before becoming a forensic examiner based at the old Strathclyde Police HQ at Pitt Street in Glasgow.
She now works at the Scottish Crime Campus in North Lanarkshire as one of more than 160 staff working in biology and one of 540 working in SPA Forensic Services as a whole. Her workload at any one time can include looking at 10 to 20 cases.
She said: “We get case information from the police then target our sampling accordingly.
“We have a forensic strategy meeting for each crime. It’s not feasible to sweep a whole football pitch, for example, so we focus on where we are most likely to get a meaningful sample.
“We know that those who commit crimes may be aware of some methods we use.
“We come across people trying to clean crime scenes or stop themselves leaving samples but we can now check for traces not visible to the naked eye. It’s about staying a step ahead.
“I have wanted to do this since I was in school. In a way I owe it all to Mr Fagan, my biology teacher at St Cuthbert’s school in Johnstone. He was inspirational to me and my friends say, ‘if Mr Fagan could see you now, he would be very proud’.”