The impact of Brexit on the future of UK forensic science and technology

•Brexit would significantly damage the future sustainability of UK forensic science.•Prior to Brexit UK forensic science is already on the brink of an existential crisis.•Forensic science and forensic technology would benefit from institutional alignment. This article seeks to assess the prospects o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science international 2019-09, Vol.302, p.109870-109870, Article 109870
Main Author: Wilson, Tim J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brexit
Civil society
Cooperation
Costs
Crime
Criminal Law
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
EU membership
Fiscal austerity
Forecasting
Forensic science
Forensic science and technology
Forensic sciences
Forensic Sciences - organization & administration
Forensic Sciences - trends
Funding
Globalization
Humans
Immigration
International Cooperation
International criminal justice cooperation
Judicial system
National science policy
Politics
Provenance
Sustainability
Technology
United Kingdom
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Summary:•Brexit would significantly damage the future sustainability of UK forensic science.•Prior to Brexit UK forensic science is already on the brink of an existential crisis.•Forensic science and forensic technology would benefit from institutional alignment. This article seeks to assess the prospects of UK forensic science and technology in a post-Brexit world by analysing four interlocking issues: Brexit itself, the evolution of national criminal justice organisational and funding priorities, the increasing interrelationship of science and technology in the forensic domain and the relatively disadvantaged place of forensic science and technology within the contemporary ‘scientific state’ paradigm. The results are generally pessimistic for the likely future of forensic science. This conclusion is reinforced by scepticism about the wisdom of proceeding with Brexit. The article is structured to identify the potential implications of British political decisions on its national forensic science capabilities and capacity. Some aspects of the analysis are likely to have a wider resonance for international discourse about the future sustainability of forensic science and technology, however, particularly the interface between the globalisation of science and technology with justice.
ISSN:0379-0738
1872-6283
DOI:10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.06.028