Tracy Alexander is the Director of Forensic Services for the City of London police. Tracy has worked in forensic science for 29 years, 17 years of which were spent within the Directorate of Forensic Services at New Scotland Yard, as Crime Scene Manager for the Homicide Command, and latterly as Head of Forensic Intelligence. 

Tracy is an advisory panel member and trustee of Inside Justice, a fellow of King's College London, and the current president of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences. 

From classics to forensics

Tracy fell into forensics entirely by accident when she saw an advert at New Scotland Yard looking for people interested in becoming fingerprint experts. 

“I thought, that sounds good. And my parents would be so proud. Essentially, at that time forensic science consisted mostly, if you're thinking about biometric data, it was entirely around fingerprints.”

The biggest changes in forensics

The biggest change came in 1995 with the instigation of the DNA database. 

“The concept of being able to use that kind of biometric data in order to identify somebody at a crime scene was, I mean I hate the phrase, but it was a complete game changer.”

The idea of being able to identify an individual by something unique to them, i.e. a fingerprint, had been around since 1897 when it was first used in Argentina, but the introduction of the DNA database meant identifying a person, and having their name available as part of an investigation for intelligence, or as part of a trial. 

About 10% of the UK population is on the DNA and fingerprint database, the biggest per capita database in the world. But has it had an impact on how crimes are investigated or how forensic services are run in the UK?

“I love my police investigative colleagues to death, but they do rely on there being forensic leads a lot. And I know in other countries they don't, they're expected to pursue all leads, do your house to house inquiries, pursue the CCTV and all of the other things that you would normally do.”

While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, says Tracy, forensic services in the UK were privatised a long time ago, and that in itself has influenced how the work is carried out. Because it’s now a case of doing how much you can afford to. 

The decline of forensic experts

In 2012 when the coalition government closed the UK Forensic Science Service (FSS), one of the biggest impacts in the forensic science space was the reduction in the number of different experts that were available to police forces across the UK. 

“There are fibre experts in the UK, but they don't work for a company because companies won't pay to have them on the books.”

The portrayal of forensic scientists by hit tv shows like Line of Duty are hugely misleading, because you simply can’t pop to the nearest lab and have a bit of rope examined, for example. 

TV portrayal of forensic scientists

While some TV shows are inaccurate about what forensic science is capable of, Tracy did learn from Rizzoli and Isles, an American forensic science show, that you can age blood. She’s also a fan of Amanda Burton in Silent Witness, although she says, as a forensic scientist, you simply can’t do all the work she does. 

“Amanda Burton can talk to the witnesses, she can comfort the victim's family, she can do the post mortem, she can examine the scene. [But] it's one of those unattainable things, you can't do all of those bits and bobs in just one hour all by yourself.” 

Investigating digital and cybercrime

In Tracy’s current role, she’s involved in investigating digital and cybercrime, which she says, isn’t complicated by the complexities of the data, more so, it’s the sheer volume of data they have to deal with that slows them down. 

And there’s no budget to use machine learning, or AI, or any new technologies to wade through the massive volumes of data to uncover patterns or read through key documents. They can’t even hire more people. 

“We do an awful lot with what we've got. I turn out 30 terabytes of data a month. All of that data is actively used in prosecutions every single day. We're juggling tonnes of data in order to make sure that people are being prosecuted as best they can, on a daily basis. But it's not enough.”

Inside Justice

Tracy also sits on the advisory panel for the charity, Inside Justice, which investigates miscarriages of justice. 

“The joy of forensic science is that it does give you the truth of the matter. We shouldn't be an expert witness on one side or the other. It should just be looking at the evidence. And see where it leads you.”

Tracy’s Montfort Maxim

What advice does Tracy give to anyone interested in embarking on a career in forensic science?

“I would definitely work on a prime science. Pick a specialism and be very, very good at that. And then potentially go and work somewhere else, maybe in the Netherlands, because they all speak English, and it's all government funded. Really learn your trade and then maybe come back to the UK and hopefully be able to have the influence and drive to push us all back on the right track.”

Discussed in this podcast episode:

• The biggest changes in forensics
• The decline of forensic experts
• TV portrayal of forensic scientists
• Investigating digital and cybercrime
• Inside Justice
• Tracy’s Montfort Maxim

Links

• https://montfort.london/
• https://montfort.london/our-team/
• Tracy Alexander
• Tracy Alexander FKC
• Inside Justice