The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Dame Cressida Dick, has visited the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to see the latest innovations being trialled in support of the police and judicial system
Dstl, the science inside UK defence and security, designs and develops new technology to keep the UK and its people safe from harm, and improve evidence-gathering techniques to aid criminal prosecutions.
During the visit the Commissioner was updated on the progress of a variety of physical and electromagnetic technologies being trialled for future use. These included the detection of concealed metal objects to help reduce knife crime, improvements in the design of body armour to provide increased protection for the wearer while making it lighter, cyber-crime, and Chemical, Biological and Radiological capabilities.
The Commissioner also toured Dstl’s new state-of-the-art Energetics Analysis Centre, the UK’s centre of excellence for explosives detection, forensic analysis and other critical counter-terrorism science and technology. The facility includes the Forensic Explosives Laboratory, which provides evidence to the Criminal Justice System as part of criminal and terrorist investigations that involve explosives.
Chief Executive of Dstl, Gary Aitkenhead, commented:
Since the integration of the Home Office’s science services into Dstl, we have continued to deliver enhanced S&T to the police service, with access to the full range of our specialist capabilities and synergies such as military and policing body armour. The Commissioner’s visit has been a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of current innovations and examine ways we can work even more effectively with the police.