NFI gives its vision on technology at an international conference
This week, the Netherlands Forensic Institute [Nederlands Forensisch Instituut] (NFI) is present at the Royal Society Meeting in London. The conference provides an opportunity for leading forensic scientists from Europe, the United States and Australia to meet and share their visions on the future of forensic research.
Forensic scientist Arian van Asten from the NFI was asked to present the NFI's vision of the role of technology in forensic science. “That vision is based on the NFI using new technology to enable chain partners to perform some aspects of forensic research themselves”, he explained. This means that in the future, the NFI will play a facilitating role in some types of forensic investigations.
National system
Another point made by Van Asten was the following: “Based on the concept of ‘integrated forensic platforms’ we believe that it is possible to guarantee high-quality research on location without specific forensics expertise being required. A national system to which field equipment is linked can ensure that quality is safeguarded and can guarantee a total overview and insight, while also enabling very efficient and effective analyses to be carried out on location.”
The NFI, together with the Dutch police force and the public prosecutor's office, is currently developing similar platforms for drugs tests and the analysis of large quantities of digital data.