13 September 2010
Police funding under the spotlight at Dundee conference
The question of police funding in an austere economic environment will be to the fore as over 130 senior police, forensic experts and academics gather in Dundee tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 14th) for the Scottish Institute for Policing Research’s fourth annual research conference.
Delegates will be considering the highly topical subject of "Policing in an Age of Austerity". The keynote address will come from Professor Martin Innes, Director of the Universities Police Science Institute, Cardiff, whose contribution is titled "Paying the bill? Policing after the recession".
Professor Nicholas Fyfe, of the University of Dundee and Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, said, "This conference focuses attention on one of the most significant challenges faced for a generation by police leaders and those with responsibilities for policing in local and central government.
"Significant public spending cuts are already impacting directly on police force budgets but will also have wider implications for policing as fiscal constraints feed through into the broader social and economic environment. Against this background, having a robust evidence-base of ‘what works’ and `what’s cost-effective’ in terms of policing is vital."
This year’s event is being held in partnership with the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) Forensic Services and their ‘New developments in forensic science’ Conference.
The conference takes place at the West Park Centre in Dundee, part of the University of Dundee, and will also include a visit to the new SPSA Forensics laboratory in the city which was officially opened in June.
The delegates will visit Rushton Court, SPSA’s new £23m forensic laboratory, where the Lord Provost, John Letford, will host a Civic Reception on Tuesday evening.
In addition to seeing the benefits provided by Scotland’s first new purpose-built forensic laboratory in 15 years, the Forensic Showcase on the second day of the conference will provide delegates with an opportunity to see the latest developments that are emerging in Dundee, with poster presentations by researchers from the University of Abertay Dundee, and the University of Dundee, including a team from the renowned Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, led by Professor Sue Black, which was featured in the highly successful ‘History Cold Case’ series on BBC2 earlier this year. There are also exhibits from the SPSA staff based in Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
SPSA Director of Forensic Services Tom Nelson said, "This conference will help to further build the vital relationship between academia and our staff working in the frontline of forensic science. By working together we can enhance research and development of our science so that it makes the best possible contribution to the investigation of crime and the pursuit of justice."
Notes for Editors
The Scottish Institute for Policing Research was established in 2007 and it supports research and knowledge exchange in order to develop evidence-based policing policy and practice. It is a collaboration between 13 universities in Scotland and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS).
SPSA provides a range of national support services ton Scottish policing, including forensic services. The new £23.3 million facility, Rushton Court, is home to more than 100 forensic science experts and 30 ICT specialists from the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA).
The new five-story, 50,000 square foot facility on the Dundee One site provides many of the latest crime-fighting technologies and features a photographic studio, biology, drugs and chemistry laboratories, fingerprint and scene examination units, the DNA robot, and the Scottish DNA Database.
The new facility has been named after the late Doctor Donald Rushton, a pioneering forensic pathologist, who was one of the first individuals to introduce forensic science into the Dundee area.
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