Eastern Uusimaa Police Department’s Forensic Investigation Centre is the first local police department in Finland to be granted accreditation which verifies the department’s proven competence in performing fingerprint and DNA investigations in its Forensic Investigation Centre in accordance with international standards.
The FINAS accreditation service assessed the fingerprint and DNA tests conducted by Eastern Uusimaa Police Department’s Forensic Investigation Centre in accordance with the accreditation requirements of the SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard.
Accreditation involves third party recognition of competence based on international criteria. It is carried out according to international standards on the basis of which the assessment is performed.
International accreditation bodies are responsible for accreditation. In Finland, the responsible body is FINAS Finnish Accreditation Service.
Key role in the criminal investigation process
Forensic investigation performed by the police plays a highly significant role in the crime investigation process. Forensic Investigation Centres based in police departments are responsible for demanding crime scene investigations and perform most of the initial investigations of samples.
Forensic Investigation Centres’ quality manuals have included detailed descriptions of the forensic crime investigation procedures since the early 2000s.
“In order to verify the reliability and traceability of the entire forensic investigation process, it was necessary to develop the quality system further nationwide to meet the requirements of the standard on which accreditation is based,” says Chief Superintendent Antti Leppilahti of the National Police Board.
According to him, international DNA and fingerprint comparisons require uniform and high quality of investigation in all countries and there is framework decision on the matter binding on Member States of the Council of the European Union.
The quality of demanding forensic crime scene investigation has been developed
Over the last three years, demanding forensic crime scene investigation has been developed further in the so-called RITU project involving local police departments, the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Police Board. The project was led by the Forensic Laboratory of the National Bureau of Investigation.
“The aim of the project is to develop and harmonise the operations of forensic investigation centres so that the fingerprint and DNA investigations they perform can be accredited according to standard SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025, says RITU Project Manager Katri Matveinen, Chemist, Forensics at the Forensic Laboratory.
The European Union's Internal Security Fund (ISF) has granted financial support to the project.
All police departments are involved in the development project and the aim is that the fingerprint and DNA investigations carried out by them will be accredited.
“The integrity of the forensic investigation sample chain is a key focus. This is a basic prerequisite for the reliability of results and international interchangeability,” says Matveinen.
The RITU project has produced a national quality manual for forensic investigation centres and working instructions that specify the operating methods.
Third party evaluation ensures uniform quality
The forensic crime investigation quality project grouped police departments into five areas. One of them comprised Helsinki, Eastern Uusimaa and Western Uusimaa. A project manager was appointed and Eastern Uusimaa Police Department was the host organisation.
“For a police department, the accreditation means that the quality system it has implemented serves as a way to openly and transparently demonstrate – even outside the home organisation – that the police department’s demanding forensic crime investigation process is in order in all respects,” says Detective Superintendent Timo Nyyssönen from the Eastern Uusimaa Police Department.
He comments that his Department was honoured to be the first unit assessed to receive a third party evaluation of the high standard of operations.
“The three-year project was a joint development process for the work community towards nationally consistent methods of operation and better quality of documentation.”
