Forensic science regulator slams damage to criminal justice system caused by legal aid cuts

Sustained cuts to legal aid funding and police budgets have badly lowered the quality of the country’s criminal justice system, the forensic science regulator has warned in her annual report.

Dr Gillian Tully has urged the government allocate more funding to enable her to enforce mandatory high standards when solicitors bring in forensic experts on criminal cases, as under the current cash-strapped system defence solicitors are forced to instruct cheaper, low-quality experts, while some overstretched police forces are refusing to pay for scientists to produce admissible court evidence. As the Law Gazette reports, Tully acknowledges that enforcing higher standards will come at a cost – one that is currently unaffordable unless some funding is restored – but maintains that putting her regulator on a statutory footing is essential to ensure that criminal justice is done properly.

Tully commented: “A year ago I warned that funding was too tight, and now even more money has been taken out of the system. We cannot continue on this path. I urge the government to put the role of the regulator on a statutory footing now, to enable me to ensure that all organisations providing forensic science evidence in the criminal justice system meet the high standards required.”