Specialist Services

With the huge changes to forensic provision that have occurred over the past few years, including the breakup of the Forensic Science Service and the budgetary restrictions imposed on the police, many police forces are considering bringing some of their forensic services ‘in house’.

Contrary to popular belief, setting up any kind of forensic service is not easy, but with the right advice and training it is possible to set up a facility where staff are trained to the highest standards, processes used gain UKAS accreditation which result in tangible cost savings.

Our scientists have years of experience in this area:

We can help advise on the space and equipment required and source it if necessary.
We can write standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all the processes involved and we can train suitable personnel to the highest scientific standards.
We are also experts in Quality Management and can help to make your processes UKAS accreditable.

As a company Forensic Equity has already provided laboratory set-up consultancy for two major UK police forces and we have played a key role in a joint venture between Hampshire Constabulary and Hampshire County Council which has lead to the setting up and UKAS accreditation of their own forensic drugs facility.

Training

Years of experience coupled with current, credible knowledge means that our forensic scientists can provide training courses that are second to none.

During their long careers they have designed and run many training courses and have trained hundreds of industry stakeholders from operational forensic scientists to police officers to solicitors and barristers.

Many of our scientists also hold lecturers’ qualifications and regularly lecture to MSc Forensic Science students at universities such as Kings College London.

Your forensic training requirements

Whether you want a one-off bespoke course on current drug trends or a more comprehensive course covering the multi-disciplines and facets of forensic science as it relates to your position, our scientists can assist.

If you are a council or police authority and you are seeking to bring some of your forensic services ‘in house’ we can help with training suitable personnel to the highest standards so that your processes can be UKAS accredited.

If you are a solicitor or barrister and would like to improve your awareness of forensic evidence, what types of evidence can and should be challenged and receive best advice on navigating the criminal justice system processes involved in doing so, our scientists can assist

Forensic Training courses for Academic Institutions

Our forensic training courses

Our scientists are some of the most experienced in the industry and several of our leading forensics already lecture on their specialist topics to academic institutions around the UK and overseas on a regular basis.

Our lecturers include:

Anne Franc – Drugs
Nigel Hodge – DNA
Philip Boyce – Firearms
David Goodwin – Fingerprints

Many of our scientists hold lecturers’ qualifications and regularly lecture to MSc Forensic Science students at universities such as Kings College London.

Your learning objectives

We would be happy to discuss how we can help deliver the degree courses you want. Whether it is just a one-off training session for staff to allow them to lecture with confidence on a topic, or a regular yearly input by one of our experts lecturing to your students.

Enquire about a course

We welcome all training course enquiries and will endeavour to put together a teaching programme which delivers your required learning objectives.

Forensic Training Courses for the Police

Our forensic training

Forensic Equity offers forensic training for the police, government bodies, laboratory staff and other law enforcement agencies. Our forensic training covers every part of forensic science, from evidence collection to the use of forensic testing equipment to forensic analysis to results interpretation to forensic reporting to giving evidence in court.

Your needs

We are aware that the closure of providers like the Forensic Science Service and the ‘slimming down’ of others has meant and the loss of the most experienced forensic trainers from those organisations. We have however retained the most experienced scientists within Forensic Equity and have actively hired those whom have become available from the other providers. Therefore if your police force requires forensic training to fulfil an operational need your first port of call should be us.

We encourage customers to allow us to carry out an initial training audit before making recommendations as to the training required. We can then work with you to deliver a training programme which meets your needs and provides real value to your staff and organisation.

Our forensic scientists

Our scientists have all previously worked in senior positions for major forensic providers past and present and are therefore best placed to deliver the very best forensic training courses.

We have the training experience and the knowhow to provide theoretical and practical courses to suit your requirements, which are suitably rigorous and proficiency tested to meet your evidential needs and UKAS accreditation requirements.

Course materials and certifications

Courses are fully supported by a full suite of training materials and delegates will be provides with both soft and hard copies. All of our courses are also certificated.

Forensic training examples

Discipline – forensic awareness training for Forensic Exhibit Oficers.
Anti-contamination awareness training for in-house laboratory staff.
An introduction into achieving and maintaining UKAS accreditation.

Recent training courses provided to government bodies have included:

A 12 month project to train local authority laboratory staff to UKAS accredited standards in drug identification and reporting.
Collaboration with force DLOs (Drugs Liaison Officers) to provide practical courses in cannabis and cannabis plant identification.

Drug Training Courses

The drugs scene in the UK is continuously evolving and an ever increasing number of new drug substances are entering the marketplace. To keep up with these changes in the drugs market and how this relates to the law, police and prosecution, it is essential that government agencies train their "drug experts" accordingly.

How can our forensic scientists assist with you training requirements?

We can offer bespoke forensic training courses, on any drugs related topics, to suit the needs of the individual police force. Talk to us about your forensic drugs training issues and we will design and deliver courses to address them.

Some popular courses can be found below however should you have specific requirements please do get in touch and we shall be happy to put together a proposal for a course which addresses your needs.

Popular drugs training courses

Drug test kits

The evidential use, by police officers, of commercially available test kits, in cases involving the possession of small amounts of drugs, is common practice amongst UK police forces. However, the right training for officers who wish to use of those kits, by suitably qualified trainers, is essential. Suitable training is required by the NPIA and the CPS, if the results obtained from them are to be used evidentially.

The course

Our forensic trainers have many years of experience, not only in planning and delivering these courses, but also with regards to how 'street drugs' both traditional (e.g. heroin) and new (e.g. newly controlled cathinones) may react with the kits that are currently available.

Our principal forensic drugs trainer, Anne Franc, was responsible for the putting together the original drugs test kit training courses offered by the two major forensic providers.

We can offer in-force courses with full course literature and certification for:

Guilty plea evidential drug testing.
EDIT evidential drug testing.

Cannabis cultivation

Over the past few years 'Cannabis Factories' run by Organised Crime groups have sprung up all over the UK. Investigating and dismantling them and prosecuting the perpetrators t uses a lot of police resources, in terms of time, manpower and cost. It is therefore essential that these 'factory scenes' are dealt with efficiently and the perpetrators prosecuted effectively. Scene responders who are properly trained are much more efficient and effective than those who are not and therefore, organised training is ultimately cost effective.

The course

Our trainers have many years of experience, not only in planning and delivering these courses, but they have hands on experience of attending cannabis cultivation scenes and are therefore uniquely placed to advise on how to deal with them efficiently and effectively and to gain 'best evidence' to secure a prosecution. They can also, if required, help individual police forces to develop suitable scene protocols. Our Principal trainer, Anne Franc, is recognised as a leading expert in cannabis cultivation with over 18 years of scene experience and has given evidence to the ACMD about cannabis and played a major role in the survey on cannabis potency published by the Home Office in 2008.

We can offer:

A half day, in force, cannabis cultivation course.
Bespoke courses in cannabis cultivation

The drugs scene in the UK is continuously evolving and an ever increasing number of new drug substances are entering the marketplace. To keep up with these changes in the drugs market and how this relates to the law, it is essential that police forces train their "drug experts" accordingly.

Forensic Training for Overseas Laboratories

We know that many countries outside the EU are trying to reduce their crime rate and increase their crime detection rate and have aspirations to set up modern forensic laboratories that have highly trained scientists who specialise in all the major forensic disciplines e.g. DNA, Drugs, Firearms and Explosives, Chemistry and trace evidence, Toxicology, Fingerprints etc.

Our forensic training programmes can help you achieve your objectives

Our scientists can design and deliver training in all the major forensic disciplines, whether it be a general overview or an in depth look at a specific topic.

Having already been heavily involved in scientific training across the world, we have the training experience and the knowhow to provide theoretical and practical courses to suit your objectives.

Our forensic scientists

With well over 1,000 years of combined experience, our scientists are some of the most talented in Europe and with years of experience in delivering forensic training courses to an array of audiences will deliver the very best forensic science training course.

Course materials and certifications

All of our courses are suitably rigorous and proficiency tested to meet your evidential needs.

Courses are fully supported by a full suite of training materials and delegates will be provides with both soft and hard copies. All of our courses are also certificated.

We have provided training for government bodies, the police and laboratory staff in countries outside the EU including, Jamaica, Nigeria, Pakistan and Libya.

Training

Laboratory Design and Set Up

Our forensic scientists have a broad range of scientific knowledge and expertise, which they can call upon to fulfill consultancy requests related to specific customer projects, such as forensic laboratory design and set-up. In the current climate with budgetary constraints, police forces are looking to make best use of their own resources and reduce their external forensic budgets. One way of doing this is to set up an in-house police forensic laboratory, capable of carrying out some of the casework, which would have previously been done by external private forensic laboratories.

How can we help design and set-up your forensic science laboratory?

Our scientists have considerable experience of planning and setting up forensic laboratories from scratch. Nearly every member of the team has set up a laboratory at some point with laboratory capabilities ranging from firearms testing to complex DNA analysis. Notably our principal scientist Anne Franc was responsible for setting up a forensic drugs laboratory (from initial design to implementation) for one of the largest providers of forensic services to police forces across the UK.

Our forensic scientists can:

Consult with you about the type of forensic science laboratory facility you want, the space you have available and your budgeting criteria.
Plan and design the laboratory layout.
Advise on any major equipment and consumables needed to achieve your analytical objectives and estimate the budget required.
Bring any major equipment purchased into service.
Develop instrumental methods and validate them.
Write standard operating procedures.
Establish suitable QA systems suitable for UKAS accreditation.
Forensic Equity staff could, if desired, operate the laboratory on an external contractor basis.

Lab set up

Staffing Solutions

There are times, and particularly now, with the closure of the Forensic Science Service, when the demand for forensic analysis and reporting services outstrips the supply of qualified forensic scientists available to complete all the submitted cases in the required time frame.

How can our forensic scientists help?

Forensic Equity can offer temporary or long term support in the analysis and reporting of all forensic evidence types. With some of Europe's leading forensic scientists on our staff we will ensure that case loads are properly managed and that all analysis, interpretation and reporting is completed on time and to a superior standard.

Our scientists are internationally recognised as experts in each of their forensic specialisms and have many years of court reporting experience.
Please contact us for further details or to request a free no obligation proposal and estimate of costs.

Staffing Solutions

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