Evaluation of the National Forensic Science Gateway

One of the primary aims of the creation of the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh, was the integration of criminal justice agencies in order to improve service provision on a national scale. Currently, a key area for consideration is more effective and efficient provision of forensic science to the Scottish criminal justice system. To address this issue, a central hub for allocation of resources and prioritisation of forensic work is being implemented introducing multi-agency decision making– the Forensic Gateway. ‘The National [forensic] Gateway will focus on delivering the most effective utilisation of Forensic Science to deliver the strategic requirements of Police Scotland and COPFS.’ Given that this approach is a significant departure from previous practices, there is an agreement on the part of the main stakeholders, that a formal evaluation is essential, to assess the effectiveness of the Gateway. This proposal aims to deliver this evaluation.