FSNI site to benefit from £20m funding

Forensic Science Northern Ireland’s Seapark site is set to benefit from a £20million investment over the next few years.
Justice Minister David Ford pictured at FSNI labs in Carrickfergus.  INCT 33-728-CONJustice Minister David Ford pictured at FSNI labs in Carrickfergus.  INCT 33-728-CON
Justice Minister David Ford pictured at FSNI labs in Carrickfergus. INCT 33-728-CON

The agency, which is responsible for providing scientific advice to support the courts, is progressing with plans for new purpose-built laboratories to be ready at the Belfast Road location in 2015.

This follows a £20 million investment which will allow FSNI to be first in the UK to upgrade to the next generation of DNA processing, including a new database.

The funding will also allow the organisation to upgrade evidence handling and analysis processes, with £5 million going towards a new case management system.

FSNI employs 220 people on-site, with over 65 percent of these being scientists directly involved with casework.

The agency specialises in DNA processing and houses extensive drug and toxicology analysis labs, with one of its main customers being the PSNI.

With a near constant stream of new drugs appearing on the market and the rise of so-called ‘legal highs’, staff at the site outlined the difficulty in analysing drugs which may be very similar at a molecular level - the very reason some manufacturers are able to get around legislation on banned substances.

Speaking during a briefing day at the Belfast Road site last Wednesday, Minister for Justice David Ford told the Times: “What we want to do is show people the work that is done on site, particularly in light of the investigation into a number of drugs-related deaths that have been reported recently. In those cases, it was important to establish that the deaths were not related.”

With temporary labs currently handling casework until the new facilities are complete, the Minister also addressed the issue of alleged ‘backlogs’ at the site.

“Sometimes people do not appreciate the complexity of the work that is done here; in fact, almost 99 percent of targets are met on time,” he said.

“Today was also about showing that the processing of evidence has to be carried out to the highest possible standards.”

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