Sir Mark Walport publishes his annual review, Forensic Science and Beyond: Authenticity, Provenance and Assurance on December 17th. The review starts with forensics – the use of analytical science to assist the courts but then moves on to identify where forensic analysis has the power to deliver benefits to society that go far beyond the Criminal Justice System. This report explores the many ways in which we can use analytical scientific tools, combined with the approaches and skills of the forensic scientist, to reap the rewards of these benefits. The report also poses a series of questions to policy makers that point to the key areas where they need to decide whether and how to act. read more

There has been a lot of media coverage and public debate about violence committed by veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A paper in the Lancet is the first large-scale study of its kind. It links data from 13,856 randomly selected serving and ex-serving UK military personnel with national criminal records to assess the impact of deployment, combat exposure, and post-deployment mental health problems on subsequent offending behaviour. read more

pharmacological treatments. Untreated ADHD is often associated with antisocial behaviour, substance misuse and criminal activity. read more

Invoking scientific evidence about the biological contributing factors of a defendant’s mental illness makes judges slightly more lenient in their sentencing decisions, reports a new study in Science. read more

Prosecutors in the trial of Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway on the 22 July 2011, decided to ask that he to be sent to a mental institution not prison. read more

A study in Archives of General Psychiatry found differences in brain structure between people with psychopathy from those with anti-social personality disorder. read more

With the spotlight on the actions of Anders Behring Breivik in Norway, the SMC invited experts in forensic psychiatry to brief journalists on how psychiatrists assess the mental health of those who have committed murder and other violent crime. read more

Experts in mental health answered questions on the types of mental health disorder found in prisons, who they affect, and whether we should be screening for them. read more

James Brokenshire, minister for crime reduction, announced on Tuesday 14th December the closure of the Forensic Science Service (FSS). read more

Specialists from secure mental health facilities such as Broadmoor Hospital briefed journalists on aspects of their work, including how they admit people, what treatments they offer, how long is the average stay, and what happens when someone leaves. read more

High profile cases of violence by people with a mental illness regularly hit the headlines and 36% of the public think that someone with a mental health problem is prone to violence. In this briefing Dr Seena Fazel, a leading expert on the epidemiology of violence and mental illness and the associated risk factors, answered questions on how closely related mental illness and violence really are, and the role played by illegal drugs and alcohol. read more

Scientists from the Forensic Science Service provided details on the latest technique, DNABoost, which can obtain a DNA profile from mixed or poor quality samples which police forces had previously had to disregard as useless. read more

Low-copy number DNA is a relatively new technique used to take genetic fingerprints from crime scenes. The technology has been used to provide evidence in more than 1,000 criminal cases where the investigation had run cold, even those that were 30 years old. This evidence has been used to convict more than 100 people, despite sometimes prompting controversy. In this briefing, experts discuss questions including the accuracy of these techniques and what limitations they stil have. read more

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics gave a briefing on the conclusions of their report, ‘The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues’, which makes recommendations to policy makers in, amongst other areas, the establishment of a population-wide National DNA Database and the uses, regulation of and access to the database. read more

Forensic techniques are now widely used in crime cases and new techniques are even being used retrospectively to solve old crimes. The Science Media Centre invited scientists to brief the press on the current issues in forensic science, DNA technology, and new technologies for solving crimes. read more

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics briefed the media on the launch of a working group which will examine the ethics around the forensic use of DNA. This includes the National DNA database, which has been a topic of controversy in the media in recent times. read more

Blood spots from the heels of newborn babies are an amazing resource for scientists, providing them with DNA to use as a baseline for important medical research on diseases like HIV and Leukaemia; screening for some rare but serious conditions; public health monitoring and helping the police for forensic purposes. The Science Media Centre has invited some of the UK’s leading experts on the results of a major public consultation on the storage and use of bloodspots. read more