STORY: "Convictions in doubt as more than 10,000 cases could be affected by data manipulation at forensics," by Home Affairs Correspondent Lizzie Dearden, published by The Independent on November 21.
SUB-HEADING: "Scandal has caused drug driving cases to be dropped and deaths referred to the Court of Appeal."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Randox analysis has been used in cases for driving offences, violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths."
STORY: "More than 10,000 criminal cases may have been affected by alleged manipulation at a forensics lab that analysed evidence of drug driving, violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths, it has been revealed. Around 50 cases that were due to go to trial have been dropped over
the scandal at a Randox Testing Services laboratory in Manchester, the
National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said. Two road deaths have been
referred to the Court of Appeal. They are just a fraction of the alleged cases across 42 police force
areas in England and Wales that could be affected by the alleged data
manipulation, which dates back to 2013. The cases could result in court
hearings being adjourned or thrown out because of the need for
retesting. Two men formerly employed by Randox Testing Services (RTS) have been
arrested, and five interviewed under caution by Greater Manchester
Police over the case. The two arrested suspects are understood to have previously worked at
another firm called Trimega Laboratories, which is also being
investigated by police over potential manipulation that could affect
child protection and family court cases. Nick Hurd, the policing minister, said the same techniques seen at RTS may have occurred at Trimega between 2010 and 2014. In
a written statement, he said the tests involved were used to detect the
presence of drugs or alcohol in hair, blood or urine – evidence that
may later be relied upon in court. “The Government recognises the seriousness of this issue, and the
potential impact on public confidence in the use of forensic science
within the justice system,” Mr Hurd said. “The senior judiciary are aware, and Government officials are working
with the police to monitor the scale of the issue as information
emerges.” The Ministry of Justice has not yet found any affected civil cases
affected, but the results may also have been used by schools and local
authorities making child protection decisions, or by private employers
testing of their employees for banned substances. Mr Hurd said it may never be possible to identify the true number of
Trimega customers affected, due to poor record-keeping, and that its
samples cannot be retested. But he added: “It is unlikely that decisions about the welfare of
children will have been taken solely on the basis of toxicology test
results. However, the Department for Education has asked local
authorities to assure themselves that the rationale for decisions made
about children’s safety and wellbeing is not now called into question.” RTS was mainly commissioned by individual police forces investigating
criminal offences, as well as for hair-strand tests for drugs and
alcohol in civil and family jurisdictions. The NSPCC said 70 per cent of the highest priority criminal cases had
already been submitted for retests, and the rest will be completed by
mid-2018. Three quarters of those potentially affected are related
to Road Traffic Act offences such as drug driving. Deputy Chief Constable James Vaughan, the NPCC lead for forensics, said the system’s integrity was vital for British policing. “We have worked at pace to respond to this serious breach of
standards and take action in cases where people’s lives could have been
affected,” he added. “We are striving to complete all cases requiring retesting as quickly
as possible so we will continue to explore ways of speeding up the
processes. “Early results from retesting have identified no impact on crime
cases such as sexual offences, violence or homicide. So far, fewer than
10 per cent of retests have resulted in drug driving cases being
discontinued.” Mr Vaughan cautioned that although no murder and rape cases have yet
been found unreliable, some could be in a lower priority band for
testing which have yet to be reanalysed. It is expected to take up to three years to retest the evidence in
all 10,000 cases because of “limited specialist, independent capacity”
in forensics – although assessments may conclude that the measure is not
necessary in every incident. All live cases will be subject to retests, with the new results being
used in court, and defendants will be informed if investigations cast
any doubt on their conviction. The NPCC, which is working with the Forensic Science Regulator, Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS), Home Office and local forces, does not
expect to know the full impact on the criminal justice system for
several months. The alleged manipulation came to light in January, when a data
anomaly in a drug driving case was reported to RTS and the company
alerted Greater Manchester Police. RTS, which is based in Northern Ireland and has offices in London and
Manchester, describes itself as a “market leader in the drug and
alcohol testing industry” and boasts of “state-of-the-art” work for
police, family law, child services, aviation, maritime and construction
industries on its website. The company said it was supporting the ongoing investigation, while
covering the costs of retesting samples at accredited external
laboratories. “The alleged manipulation in RTS involved changing data in testing
methods which had been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation
Service (UKAS),” a spokesperson added. “The actual samples were not affected which has enabled retesting,
and there is no evidence to suggest that the core purpose of the
manipulation was intended to create positive or negative results in any
specific tests.” The firm said it took on staff from other companies when it was
founded in 2014, including the two arrested suspects who had worked at
the now-defunct Trimega Laboratories Ltd. Dr Mark Piper, the toxicology manager at RTS, said: “We have acted as
whistleblower to ensure the integrity of the criminal justice
system. We will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police and the
appropriate authorities in the investigation. “We will do all that we can to ensure this situation is resolved and deeply regret the distress that has been caused. “We are now well-advanced in developing a foolproof testing system
which would enhance the security of our operations in the future, to
provide the necessary level of confidence.” Gillian Tully, of the Forensic Services Regulator, said all major forensic toxicology suppliers were asked to carry out a detailed audit
to ensure the issue was not more widespread, but that investigations
uncovered no data manipulation, adding: “I'm not going to speculate on
any motives because obviously there is an ongoing criminal
investigation, but we cannot just say it was a minor technical issue."
The entire story can be found at:
The entire story can be found at:
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/forensic-labs-data-manipulation-criminal-convictions-doubt-randox-testing-services-investigation-a8066966.html
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