UK Forensic Science Regulator (FSR)
Definition
The statutory body in England and Wales responsible for setting and monitoring quality standards in forensic science. The FSR has published codes of practice and guidance on evaluative reporting, including positions on verbal LR scales used by accredited laboratories.
- Jurisdiction
- England and Wales
- Function
- Sets and monitors forensic quality standards
- Publications
- Codes of practice, evaluative reporting guidance
- Relevant position
- Guidance on verbal LR scales in accredited labs
Common questions
Why does the FSR's guidance on verbal LR scales matter for how experts phrase conclusions in UK courts?+
Accredited laboratories are expected to follow FSR guidance when translating a numerical likelihood ratio into words such as 'moderate support' or 'strong support', so the FSR's position shapes the standard phrasing experts use and what a court can expect a given verbal term to mean statistically.
Is the FSR's authority the same as a court's rules of evidence?+
No, the FSR sets quality and practice standards for the forensic science profession and accredited providers, while admissibility and weight of evidence remain matters for the court under its own evidentiary rules, though FSR standards can inform how a court assesses reliability.
Related terms
- ENFSI Guideline for Evaluative Reporting
- A consensus guidance document from the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes that defines how member laboratories should express evaluative opinions. It...
- Evaluative Conclusion
- A forensic opinion that addresses the weight of the evidence, typically expressed as an LR or a verbal equivalent. Distinct from a...
- Likelihood Ratio (LR)
- The ratio of two conditional probabilities: the probability of the observed evidence given the prosecution's hypothesis (same source), divided by the probability...
- Source-Level Hypothesis
- A proposition about who or what produced a trace, for example 'this glass came from the broken window at the crime scene'...
- Verbal Scale
- The ENFSI translation of numerical likelihood ratios into courtroom language: very strong support (LR over 10,000), strong support (LR 1,000-10,000), moderate support...