A forensic officer photographs an area of land on Saddleworth Moor near Oldham, after remains were discovered in 2008. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA
Police contracts that put pressure on forensic scientists to deliver low-cost investigations within tight timescales risk jeopardising quality and could lead to a miscarriage of justice, experts have warned.
Police forces have changed the way they obtain forensic science services for criminal investigations and now pick laboratories through competitive tendering.
That has led to forces typically employing firms that offer the lowest cost or quickest turnaround time for testing evidence, according to Clare Stangoe, principal scientist at Forensic Access, a leading provider of forensics services. The murder and sex crimes specialist said that whereas before scientists were given "the time they need", they might now have to deliver results within three days, with the laboratory facing a fine if they are late.
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