Showcasing analytical science in the forensic fight against crime

We are delighted to present this web themed Security and Forensics issue to the readers of Analyst and Analytical Methods, covering a range of exciting new developments within the field of forensic science.

Methods of analysis and application of these techniques within the forensic science arena are constantly evolving. In order for new forensic techniques to be fully effective, implemented and validated, with their results being accepted by the courts, there is a need for greater communication and presentation and it is hoped that this web themed issue goes some way to promote this. The aim and scope of this issue is to report the latest analytical methods that address current issues and may help to assist the modern forensic scientist in the fight against crime.

This issue contains a diverse range of global contributions spanning the many areas that forensic scientists encounter such as reporting upon new chemical spot tests for piperazine analogues, often marketed as ‘legal ecstasy’, through to the development of a simple, all-solid-state, wearable fingertip sensor, viz Forensic finger sensor, for the rapid on-site electrochemical screening of gunshot residue and explosive surface residues. Other work utilises nanotechnology to assist in the development of a multi-metal deposition technique for fingermark enhancement and the development of Forensic Electrochemistry for the screening of Rohypnol® in adulterated beverages. Forensic evidence is rarely found in ideal conditions but rather in trace amounts on a plethora of substrates that have been exposed to the environment – work in this themed issue elegantly demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy provides a valuable technique for the identification and differentiation of lipstick samples under controlled laboratory conditions and is successfully applied to aged samples providing a valuable tool for discriminating between lipstick samples under a range of forensically relevant situations. Other work utilises well-established nuclear magnetic resonance for the analysis of polymer foam samples providing an additional discriminating tool in addition to typically employed infrared spectroscopy or microscopy.

It would be an impossible task to attempt to cover all the different forensic evidence types one might encounter and their recent developments in detection and analysis within one themed issue. What we hope is that the excellent research papers presented here in both Analyst and Analytical Methods will stimulate and encourage the analytical community to consider whether the analytical techniques they are using/developing could also have a useful place in the world of forensic analysis.

Finally, we must thank May Copsey (Editor) and Rebecca Brodie (Deputy Editor) for giving us the opportunity to act as Guest Editors for this Security and Forensics web themed issue. Of course we are indebted to the authors who have contributed and made this web themed issue possible. We hope that your work continues to push the frontiers of analytical science forward and leads to an increased arsenal of analytical methods available to the forensic scientist.

Craig Banks (top) and Jason Birkett (bottom)

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