An International Perspective

Introduction

Events in the last two decades have changed the face of the world. There are far fewer restrictions on travel to and from countries around the world, modern communications are changing the way people do business, allowing trade to be conducted easily across time zones and when one financial market suffers the effect is felt globally.
Science generally has always been accepted as an international language and there is no reason why forensic science should be treated any differently. Whereas ordinary people around the world may be somewhat reluctant to view their role within society from a global perspective, we know that for many criminals national boundaries are no barrier. Law enforcement agencies have had to become much more active on the international scene taking part in increasing numbers of joint exercises with agencies from other countries, exchanging intelligence information and reviewing how law enforcement must change to deal effectively with international crime. Equally important is the sharing of good practise and experience as the need for universal standards becomes more recognized.
Criminal trends, social pressures and political priorities all have implications for the investigation of crime. It is now accepted internationally that forensic science has an important role to play in the investigation of crime, from the crime scene to the court room. Forensic science is committed to producing products and services which are fit for the purpose and to investing in staff to ensure that their competence and training continue to grow and keep pace with new developments in science, technology and the law. Today, that investment must transcend national boundaries.


The European Union and Europe

The last twelve years have seen dramatic changes in Europe. The Maastricht Treaty has opened the way for increased police and judicial cooperation between the Member States of the EU; the Schengen Convention heralded the removal of border controls and greater freedom of movement on mainland Europe; and most importantly the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism has opened Eastern Europe and new states formed from the old USSR to the West.
With these changes the European Union has experienced increased activity by organized crime from Eastern Europe within its borders. The greater freedom of movement between west and east has opened up new routes for criminals and criminal organizations trafficking in a variety of goods including drugs, firearms and people. Within the EU, the increased freedom of movement has already impacted on the investigation of organized and serious cross-border crime.
Before he was assassinated in 1992 by a Mafia bomb, Italian Prosecutor Giovanni Falcone predicted that organized crime syndicates were ‘going to become the biggest beneficiaries of a free Europe’. He believed that if there were to be no frontiers for crime there should be none for justice. He called on his counterparts in Europe to organize an information network on organized crime. On 1 October 1998 Member States ratified the convention to establish Europol, an EU-wide organization responsible for information exchange and criminal intelligence analysis. Europol will provide a system for the rapid and confidential exchange of information to support multinational police action against issues such as drugs, suspected terrorists, arms shipments, asylum seekers, stolen vehicles, the illegal trade in nuclear materials and money laundering.
The EU is taking a more active role in encouraging interagency cooperation and police and judicial cooperation between Member States. The EU sees the effective tackling of serious crime, drugs and illegal immigration issues as a priority and has placed particular emphasis on practical cooperation supporting operational services provided by police, customs, other law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.

Forensic Science in Europe

In the Spring of1992 the Gerechtelijk Laboratory in the Netherlands instigated regular meetings for forensic laboratory directors from the main public service/government forensic science laboratories in Western Europe. A year later a meeting was held in the Netherlands to discuss a European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI). It was attended by 11 of the 13 laboratories invited. Between March 1993 and October 1995, six meetings were held and topics discussed included ‘Accreditation of forensic science laboratories’, ‘Quality management and forensic education’, ‘Automation of crime laboratories’ and ‘International cooperation’. ENFSI was founded formally in October 1995.
Currently, ENFSI has 39 members from some 26 countries in Europe including 12 of the 15 EU Member States. The majority of members are directors of institutes who are major providers in their country of professional forensic science services to support crime investigation including the police, the judicial investigation and/or the prosecution of crime. The aim of ENFSI is to promote cooperation between its members and their laboratories through:
1. discussion of managerial questions, the effective utilization of forensic science, scientific development, and standards of practice;
2. exchange of quality assurance methods and procedures, training, scientific exchange programs and research and development;
3. cooperation with other international organizations.
To date ENFSI has taken this aim forward in a number of ways notably through its annual meeting, the work of its Board, and through technical working groups which focus on particular forensic areas. In the last two years, much has been achieved to establish a platform on which ENFSI can take forward its initiatives. In the second half of 1997, ENFSI was adopted by the European Union Police Cooperation Working Group as advisers on forensic science issues. ENFSI has also established contact with Europol, with a first meeting in September 1998. From a global perspective, in May 1997, the ENFSI Board opened up discussions internationally with other similar ‘managerially’ based organizations.
However, ENFSI has also been aware that the practical and technical aspects of forensic science, in particular benchwork and staff competence and training, must also be addressed on an international basis. The network has supported technical working groups since its inception and all are now addressing the issue of how forensic science can transcend international cultural and legal differences. The Strategy Plan for 1998-2003 now focuses on the business of ENFSI and in particular the promotion of good practice among forensic science practitioners.

Crime Worldwide

The problems facing law-enforcement agencies, and by association forensic science, in Europe are no different from those faced by the rest of the world.
All must be borne in mind when addressing how best to contribute to the solution.
Organized crime has always had something of an international perspective; the Colombian drug cartels, Sicilian and Italian Mafia and their American counterparts, the Chinese triads, Japanese yakuza and the Jamaican ‘Yardies’ are some of the more familiar organizations. Now with the changes to the former USSR and Eastern Europe we are being introduced to groups about whom we know comparatively little. Law enforcement agencies have established that these groups are active globally and are increasingly entering into business deals with each other. There is evidence to suggest that organized crime has entered into business arrangements with terrorist groups, for example arranging the supply of arms or nuclear reagents in exchange for illicit drugs, supplies of which are readily available to some terrorist groups.
Aside from organized crime, the reduction in travel restrictions and the advances in modern communications have also resulted in an increase in serious cross-border crime. Modern communications can allow individuals to commit offences such as fraud without travelling outside their own national boundaries. The ease with which individuals can now travel abroad and the high throughput experienced by some destinations, particularly the major tourist attractions, creates additional problems for an investigation.
There are individuals who specifically travel abroad so that they might indulge in practices which are considered to be abhorrent by the majority of civilized societies and which have been criminalized in their own country. There are still countries where culture may dictate an age that a girl can marry, and therefore engage in sexual relations, which is significantly younger than that which others may find acceptable. In other countries limited resources and other political priorities may prevent overstretched law-enforcement agencies from properly addressing such issues as child abuse. As a result, this has provided opportunities for Western pedophiles to continue to practice in comparative safety from prosecution. Campaigns by individuals and the United Nations have started to change the situation but, more importantly, hardening attitudes of some countries to citizens committing such crimes overseas has resulted in an unexpected response. In some countries, legislation has already been enacted which potentially allows the authorities to prosecute a citizen for certain sexual offences against children which have been committed outside their national boundaries. Changes in attitude such as these present major challenges for criminal investigations and justice systems around the world.
The forensic science community has already started to address the issues raised by these examples, what contribution it can make and what impact this will have on the administration of the science as a whole. In support of this, international organizations have begun to acknowledge the important role forensic science can play. Aside from the EU Police Cooperation Working Group, mentioned earlier, both Inter-pol and the United Nations have acknowledged the potential contribution of forensic science.
Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization), which was established in 1914, is a worldwide organization (to date 178 member countries) whose aim is to promote and facilitate inquiries into criminal activities. Interpol has established working groups which focus on a number of fields of expertise within forensic science, bringing together scientists and law-enforcement officers to work in partnership.
The United Nations came into existence in 1945 and membership now stands at 185 States. The UN ‘Family’ includes bodies which focus on justice and human rights and the global drug problem and the involvement of organized crime. In 1996, the Secretary-General on Human Rights produced a report on ‘Human rights and forensic science’ further reinforcing earlier work in 1992 which acknowledged the crucial role of forensic science in identifying probable victims of human rights violations and the collection of evidence for any subsequent legal proceedings. The mission of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) is to work with the nations of the world to tackle the global drug problem and its consequences. Two of the ways it intends to achieve this is by strengthening international action against drug production, trafficking and drug-related crime and by providing information, analysis and expertise on the drug issue. Both of these will benefit from the involvement of forensic science. UNDCP has also acknowledged the importance of forensic science. In 1997/98 it contributed funding towards improving standards in the provision of forensic science in the Caribbean and establishing a center of excellence.

Forensic Science Around the World

Everything mentioned so far has implications for the administration of forensic science, especially from an international perspective, and the forensic science community has already begun to respond.
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) and Senior Managers Australian and New Zealand Forensic Laboratories (SMANZFL) are similar managerially based organizations to ENFSI.
ASCLD, a professional organization of crime laboratory managers primarily supporting forensic laboratories in North America, believes in ‘excellence through leadership in forensic science management’. ASCLD’s membership also extends to Directors of forensic laboratories around the world. SMANZFL currently covers the forensic laboratories in Australia and New Zealand and aims to provide leadership in the pursuit of excellence within forensic science. All three organizations, ENFSI, SMANZFL and ASCLD,actively support technical working groups charged with taking forward the business of forensic science at the technical/scientific level and increasingly these groups are communicating with one another.
No doubt there are other similar organizations, and where they do not exist I would like to think that steps are being taken to establish them.
Many countries already have their own forensic science societies/associations whose purpose is to support the needs of forensic scientists themselves, for example, the Forensic Science Society in the United Kingdom, the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, the American Academy of Forensic Science. These organizations provide forensic scientists the opportunity to make contacts and exchange technical information, experience and best practice through meetings, newsletters, journals and the Internet.
In addition to these there are the international organizations which bring the global community together; Interpol holds a triennial Forensic Science Symposium attended by both forensic scientists and law-enforcement officers.
The International Association of Forensic Science (IAFS) was formed in 1966. It is unique in that it is an association in name only – it has no members, no budget and no permanent secretariat. Its stated aims and objectives are:
1. To develop the forensic sciences;
2. To assist forensic scientists and others to exchange scientific and technical information; and,
3. To organize meetings.
The IAFS achieves these primarily by means of its principal activity which is the choice of President and venue for each triennial. The triennial meeting brings together colleagues from around the world and from all fields of expertise within forensic science in its broadest sense.

The Future

This article highlights some of the main challenges facing the administration of forensic science into the twenty-first century. It also shows how forensic science is already responding to these challenges.
The global community is a reality and, although legal systems differ around the world, when an adjudication is taken which affects forensic evidence in one country it is likely to have implications for forensic science around the world. Parts of the criminal justice process are already becoming international and this, together with increasing cooperation between law enforcement agencies from different countries, means forensic scientists must address their profession from an international perspective. We are being called more frequently to provide evidence in courts outside our national boundaries and, for the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that there will be any significant harmonization of legal systems. Therefore, we must be confident that our evidence is robust enough to stand up to scrutiny in court anywhere in the world.
We must also ask how forensic science can contribute further to justice systems and to the way in which law enforcement agencies tackle international crime. In the last four years we have proved how forensic intelligence databases such as DNA, drugs and footwear can make a major contribution to the investigation of crime. The ability to exchange such information across national boundaries has now been recognized as an important tool in the fight against global crime and the forensic science community has already begun to address this problem. For example, ENFSI is responding to requests for advice on DNA and drugs intelligence databases and the exchange of information from the European Union Police Cooperation Working Group.
At managerial level, the ENFSI, ASCLD and SMANZFL summit has started to identify the core issues; sharing research; quality – a common approach through accreditation of systems and procedures to agreed international standards; exchange of best practice; and the training and competence of staff. The value of forensic science lies ultimately in the people who practice it. Forensic scientists and managers of forensic science institutes must be encouraged to communicate and cooperate on an international scale, for only with the support and involvement of both, can investment be made in the staff who are at the frontline of forensic science within criminal investigations.
Finally, I believe that many if not all the issues raised in this chapter are best tackled collectively. However, I do not agree with mandatory standards of uniformity. There is a space for a collective view on how science can contribute in terms of outcomes and benefits throughout the whole forensic process. How this is achieved will inevitably depend on national differences, although few, if any, would be able to present a sound argument against the need for quality in terms of accuracy and reliability, and a sound assessment of the strength of evidence to be adopted by all. The future of forensic science in the twenty-first century should be determined through a united profession working collectively to determine how best they make this contribution.

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