History
Milestones
10-Sep-2007 - LGC launches Germany's largest
independent DNA forensics laboratory
At the official opening on 7 September of ‘Institut
für Blutgruppenforschung LGC’ (IfB-LGC) in Cologne, Germany, the
UK’s Home Office Interim Quality Regulator for Forensics, Adrian
Cory, told German police chiefs how DNA expertise will radically
improve success rates in criminal investigations and enhance the
quality of service provided to law enforcement bodies.
The laboratory, which was acquired by LGC last year, had made
its name as a high quality paternity testing laboratory. Increased
demand from the German police to analyse samples for loading onto
the German national database led LGC to invest significantly in the
laboratory to transfer innovative techniques and methodologies from
the UK to Germany.
In the UK, the effective utilisation of DNA technology has been
accelerated by the involvement of private sector companies. This
has eliminated backlogs, radically reduced the time taken to
produce a DNA profile and accelerated the rate of innovation. It
has also been recognized as improving success rates in complex and
high-profile cases.
Investment in IfB-LGC by LGC will also allow German authorities
to have access to novel and powerful techniques. One of these is a
new technique for conducting searches of national DNA databases for
family members when no direct matches are obtained first time
round. This familial search tool is more powerful than others
currently available as it combines the extent of match with degree
of rarity. In the UK, LGC Forensics is currently discussing with
the Custodian of the National DNA Database how best to use the
technique within the UK framework.
The expansion of specialist services at IfB-LGC is an important
step in the gradual erosion of international frontiers in forensic
science. These frontiers have developed as different countries have
responded in different ways to the opportunities arising from the
sophistication of science . Harmonising specialist services like
DNA profiling internationally will prove extremely powerful and LGC
Forensics is spearheading this drive for integration through
collaboration and partnerships abroad. The development of
specialist services in IfB-LGC marks the beginning of a what it is
hoped will be long-lasting partnership with the police and the
forensic science community in Germany.
Dr Angela Gallop, Director, LGC Forensics said: "We have for
a long time been impressed by German forensic techniques in
areas such as textile fibres analysis. There is a lot the UK and
German markets can learn from each other in terms of techniques and
methodologies,and through our relationship with IfB-LGC we are
already beginning to import from Germany specialist expertise to
enhance the services we provide in the UK.
Our role in Germany, through IfB-LGC’s new progressive DNA
profiling abilities, is to help the police and forensic science
community benefit as we have in the UK from having private sector
involvement in the provision of specialist forensic services. In
our experience government provision alone is not enough to optimize
the benefits of modern DNA technologies and truly empower the
criminal investigator."
Our UK and German scientists are already working together on
improved methodologies which will greatly enhance the service
provided to criminal justice systems across Europe.