On Forensic Science Expertise

Abstract

This chapter examines the current status of forensic science service expertise and experts (or court experts, forensic practitioners, forensic scientists or forensic reporters). Despite promising initiatives, uniform mandatory minimum standards for forensic science services and personnel are still sadly lacking, even though the expert’s report often forms the basis of pivotal and far-reaching judicial judgements. Our recommendations aim to improve (the objective assessment and monitoring of) forensic science service expertise at both a national and international level. The forensic science service field in the European Union is in dire need of the following growth model: a specific forensic accreditation standard (CEN/ISO) for laboratories, a European Forensic Science Committee dedicated to the improvement and monitoring of forensic science services, setting objective and specific professional requirements of competence per field of expertise, creating an international pool of trained assessors, as well as uniform evidence-based guidelines, proficiency tests per field of expertise and a certification scheme for (sole) practitioners.

Michel Smithuis is the director, and Esther van Ruth a senior policy adviser, of the Nederlands Register Gerechtelijk Deskundigen (Netherlands Register of Courts Experts, see https://english.nrgd.nl/). All weblinks accessed 21 July 2017.