Response

SPA Forensic Services only keep samples collected from a crime scene that have been tested. Samples taken from a crime scene that have been submitted to Forensic Services and not examined go back to the Procurator Fiscal with the rest of the case, via the Police.

A convicted person’s legal representative has the right to request and obtain any untested samples to be tested at a laboratory of their choice. This is normally done by the representative contacting the Procurator

Fiscal in charge of the case in the first instance. The SPA Forensic Services Defence Access policy has been developed to ensure that defence agents and independent forensic science experts have consistent, fair and transparent access to productions and specific information held by the organisation.

The information requested can reasonably be obtained. Therefore this represents a notice in terms of Section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - the authority considers that the information is already available, therefore there is no need to provide an alternative right of access to it through FOISA.

The SPA Forensic Services Defence Access Policy is published on our website. The document is a summary of the Standard Operating Procedure implemented at all SPA Forensic Services sites when defence access to productions and information held by SPA is granted by the Procurator Fiscal.