Are the 'bad guys' ever desperate enough to launch a physical attack on a forensics laboratory that is holding evidence that incriminates them?
Attacks on forensics laboratories are not unknown but, fortunately, their occurrence is rare.
In 1976, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a 900kg explosive device reduced the forensic science laboratory in Belfast to rubble. Valuable forensic evidence for use in the prosecution of terrorist suspects was destroyed.
On 18th February 2010, just after midnight, the Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Science Laboratory in Edinburgh was firebombed. The laboratory deals with about one-fifth of Scotland's forensics casework. A masked man was spotted running away from the scene, before getting into a small, dark-coloured car. The car, driven by a second man, sped off into the night. Firefighters extinguished the two fires that had been started in ground floor offices, but there was extensive smoke damage throughout the building.
The firebombs did not cause any structural damage to the areas holding forensic exhibits (or 'productions', as they are called in Scotland), so the perpetrators may not have achieved their aim. There was no report on whether the smoke damage had affected subsequent forensic examinations.
Here is a description of the two men thought to be responsible for the crime, but as far as I know, they have not been identified.
The firebombs did not cause any structural damage to the areas holding forensic exhibits (or 'productions', as they are called in Scotland), so the perpetrators may not have achieved their aim. There was no report on whether the smoke damage had affected subsequent forensic examinations.
Here is a description of the two men thought to be responsible for the crime, but as far as I know, they have not been identified.
Description of alleged forensic laboratory firebombers
Away from man-made destruction, natural events, like Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, have wreaked havoc on potential forensic evidence, with interesting consequences for the criminal justice system.
Here is an article from the New York Times about the Hurricane Sandy-induced flooding of two NYPD warehouses containing items awaiting forensic examination, what is happening in the courts as a result of 'inaccessible' evidence, and how the New Orleans Police Department is still struggling with forensic issues after Hurricane Katrina.
Flooding of two police warehouses destroys evidence needed for criminal trials
Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter @forensicswrite where I tweet links to articles about forensics or crime writing or perhaps both at the same time. Please feel free to send me a forensics query or leave a comment on my blog. I'd love to hear from you.
Away from man-made destruction, natural events, like Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, have wreaked havoc on potential forensic evidence, with interesting consequences for the criminal justice system.
Here is an article from the New York Times about the Hurricane Sandy-induced flooding of two NYPD warehouses containing items awaiting forensic examination, what is happening in the courts as a result of 'inaccessible' evidence, and how the New Orleans Police Department is still struggling with forensic issues after Hurricane Katrina.
Flooding of two police warehouses destroys evidence needed for criminal trials
Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter @forensicswrite where I tweet links to articles about forensics or crime writing or perhaps both at the same time. Please feel free to send me a forensics query or leave a comment on my blog. I'd love to hear from you.
How does a hospital and law enforcement lose evidence. If the evidence would not have disappeared there would have been proof of strangulation. They completely left out being strangeled in the police report. So this person got a battery charge and released eventually charges dismissed. My point is, evidence will go missing if it involves a prosecutor and law enforcement covering for a snitch. Remove if not allowed. Two nights in a row in the ER pictures were taken of marks all over my neck, back and legs like 20 pictures each night the same hospital two different locations.
ReplyDelete