Key Forensic Services Ltd

Key Forensic Services customers know we're one step ahead with our Footwear Examination service 👣 🐾 We have the expertise and technology to gather an abundance of information from a crime scene – from even a footprint – that can link, or eliminate, a suspect.  Our forensic scientists can accurately compare marks from a crime scene with control marks made by footwear taken from suspects. Our findings can then uniquely link or eliminate a suspect, or provide supporting evidence where a categorical opinion is not possible. If you think we can help you, contact us by following the link in the comments 👇

Throwback Thursday: How cat hair could be the purr-fect way to catch criminals 🐈 Researchers from the University of Leicester have shown that a single cat hair contains DNA which could link a suspect and a crime-scene, or a victim. Around 26 percent of UK householders own a cat and with the average feline shedding thousands of hairs annually, it’s inevitable that once you leave, you’ll bear evidence of the furry resident. This is potentially useful in the forensic investigation of criminal activity. While a human perpetrator may take pains not to leave their own DNA behind, transferred cat hair contains its own DNA that could provide a link between a suspect and a crime-scene, or a victim. In a paper published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics, researchers at the University of Leicester describe a sensitive method that can extract maximum DNA information from just one cat hair. Find out more by cat-ching the link in the comments 👇

The smallest piece of evidence can sometimes uncover the biggest facts 👌 Hair trace evidence, studied by our scientific forensic experts here at Key Forensic Services, can often rule in, or rule out, key facts of a crime scene. Physical contact with people, or animals, may result in a transfer of hairs. Those hairs can then be identified and compared, using microscopy, by our meticulous forensic scientists based at our state-of-the-art laboratories. Want to know more? Here's what we can do with hair: 🧑🦰 Human hair: For human hairs, the ethnic and/or body of origin can be determined, for example, whether it is head, body or pubic hair. 🧬 DNA analysis: If suitable, DNA analysis can be undertaken to provide a statistical probability of a hair having originated from a particular individual. 🐶 Animal hair: For animal hairs, the species of animal can be determined, and if suitable the recovered hairs can be compared against reference hairs from a particular animal to assist in determining, microscopically, whether the hairs could have originated from that animal. Discover more about our hair trace evidence service by following the link in the comments.

The "Holy Grail of forensic investigation" breakthrough 🔍 A pioneering new test that can recover fingerprints from ammunition casing, once thought nearly impossible, has been developed by two Irish scientists. Eithne Dempsey, and her recent PhD student Colm McKeever, of the Department of Chemistry at Ireland's Maynooth University, have developed a unique electrochemical method that can visualise fingerprints on brass casings, even after they have been exposed to the high temperature conditions experienced during gunfire. For decades, investigators have struggled to recover fingerprints from weapons because any biological trace is usually destroyed by the high temperatures, friction and gas released after a gun is fired. As a result, criminals often abandon their weapons or casings at crime scenes, confident that they leave no fingerprint evidence behind. "The Holy Grail in forensic investigation has always been retrieving prints from fired ammunition casings," says Dempsey. "Traditionally, the intense heat of firing destroys any biological residue. However, our technique has been able to reveal fingerprint ridges that would otherwise remain imperceptible." The study is published in the journal Forensic Chemistry - you can read more on this story by following the link in the comments ⬇️

As part of KFS's commitment to sustainability, we were delighted to attend the University of Warwick Science Park's first Sustainability Working Group. It was a dynamic and collaborative first session, the series of of which has been developed as part of UWSP’s broader Sustainability Strategy. We heard a thought-provoking presentation from David Bott, Principal Fellow at WMG, University of Warwick, tracing the evolution of sustainability from national frameworks all the way down to individual action. We're looking forward to the next sessions during the coming weeks - and more inspiring conversations around sustainability. Watch this space!

Customer experience is key for KFS 🔑  We're here for you 24/7, and we're proud of the level of service we provide. Our highly-skilled customer services teams are trained to deliver you an exceptional standard of customer satisfaction across each of our offices in Coventry, Norwich and Warrington. We provide a comprehensive range of UKAS-accredited forensic science services every hour of every day, enabling us to deal with your enquiries quickly and efficiently, while always maintaining the exceptional standards we set ourselves. Our 24/7 Duty Manager service also provides you with the knowledge and security that, should you have an urgent enquiry or need our support, someone is always available to talk to you out of hours. 🗣️ Talk to our Customer Services teams today by following the link in the comments. #forensicserviceprovider #forensicservices

Our Drug Testing & Analysis team has an excellent track record of turning around very quickly, giving our customers the service they expect 👌 It's something we're very proud of. The KFS drugs team has an in-depth knowledge and wealth of experience in dealing with the rising number of drugs controlled under both the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. Working from our own on-site labs, we offer services ranging from the provision of identity and weight for possession cases to drug purity, cannabis yield calculations and comparisons for supply, production, importation/exportation and conspiracy cases. We are also represented on the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes - ENFSI, meaning our scientists can access drugs knowledge from across Europe, and enabling us to continue providing expert guidance to our customers. Learn more about our Drug Testing & Analysis service by following the link in the comments 👍 #forensics #forensicscience #forensicservices #drugtesting #druganalysis #ENFSI

📣 ICYMI: "Of the tens of thousands who die trying to reach Europe on migrant boats, fewer than a quarter are ever formally identified". However, a recently established network of forensic scientists is trying to change this, through the development of new technologies and processes to aid identification efforts. Launched last year, Migrant Disaster Victim ID brings together expertise from across Europe to address what its chair, Prof Caroline Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University, describes as a growing humanitarian crisis of unidentified deceased migrants in Europe. To read the full story, follow the link in the comments. #forensicsnews

Did you know that KFS provides our customers with a wide range of quality services, including environmental testing and quality control testing❓ We're proud to say that these quality forensic testing services are designed by our own forensic scientists 🧑🔬 These tests support the activities undertaken by police forces, manufacturers or suppliers, who are required to demonstrate that their proficiency testing programs are strong and robust. 🟦 Environmental Testing: We offer an environmental testing service which fits with individual customers’ requirements to assure cleaning regimes are both effective and appropriate. Periodical environmental monitoring is vital when maintaining a DNA clean operating environment. 🟦 Quality Control Testing: We offer quality control testing that is adaptable to consumables utilised by the customer. Quality control testing is vital in minimising the risk of human DNA contamination in consumables used in the recovery and processing of DNA samples. Could our quality forensic testing services help you❓ Find out by following the link in the comments. #forensicservices #forensicscience #forensicservicesprovider

Key Forensic Services is here for you whenever you need us 👍 Our focus is on our police customers’ requirements and the need to provide them with forensic effectiveness, unquestionable integrity and value for money. With Major Incident Teams based at all our UK sites, forensic crime scene support can be mobilised at short notice via our Duty Manager System, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 🔔 We have a highly competent, multi-skilled team of case-working scientists, all of whom are accustomed to presenting professional forensic expert opinion in the courtroom and who have many years of experience working as forensic practitioners on routine and high-profile cases. Discover more by contacting us today - just follow the link in the comments 👇  #forensicservices #forensicserviceprovider #forensicscience