The Victoria Police Forensic Services Department (FSD) is one of the largest providers of forensic science services in Australia.
The statement of strategic intent is: 'The Forensic Services Department will deliver an excellent, integrated forensic service to Victoria Police, the Judicial system and the Community.'
Although the definition for 'forensic' is: pertaining to or used in courts of law, forensic science is broader than this. It also includes:
- assisting in an investigation, eg. through use of DNA, fingerprints or other databases, it can provide possible suspects that the police may then interview
- excluding suspects
FSD is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) and we take pride in ensuring the on-going quality of our services and are committed to identifying improvements to ensure best practice.
The forensic examinations may be scene examinations, or exhibit examinations.
Scene examinations
Forensic staff attend and examine many serious crime scenes including homicides, suspicious fires, clandestine drug laboratories, cannabis crops and recovery of bodies after a disaster.
Exhibit examinations
The Forensic Services Department examines more than 55,000 exhibits per year. Exhibits are collected from scenes and from persons (suspects, complainants, deceased and convicted persons).
Assistance to the Courts
Our results provide assistance to the justice process and the courts. The Court may accept our written report or sometimes the experts are required to present their evidence in Court. Our aim is to provide impartial evidence to assist the Court to understand what occurred. It is up to the jury to decide if the evidence is understandable, reliable and how much weight the evidence has.
Contact us:
- for student and career enquiries, requests for forensic speakers for schools and community groups, email: trainingunit-fsd-oic@police.vic.gov.au
- compliments and complaints: quality-fsd-mgr@police.vic.gov.au
- all other enquiries: quality-fsd-mgr@police.vic.gov.au
Forensic Services Department
31 Forensic Drive
Macleod, VIC, 3085
Phone: (03) 9450 3444
Fax: (03) 9459 9769
Updated