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VOICE-OVER: The Netherlands Forensic Institute
is one of the world's leading forensic laboratories.
And with over six hundred scientific experts
and expertise in over forty forensic disciplines,
the NFI is unique in the world.
The NFI applies cutting-edge science
to provide objective, reliable forensic analyses,
analyses that help to find answers to crime-related questions
such as: What happened? And: Who is responsible?
By investing heavily in innovation and technology,
the NFI seeks to lay the foundations for the innovative methods and technologies
that will play a key part in tomorrow's forensic investigations.
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VOICE-OVER: As society becomes ever more digitised,
the quantity and range of digital traces are growing exponentially.
The NFI's forensic IT experts are pioneers
in the field of optimising techniques and developing new products
to collect, recover and analyse electronic data for legal purposes.
These tools and techniques are dramatically increasing the speed
at which large amounts of digital data can be analysed
and are even making it possible to retrieve and examine data
from files that have been lost, damaged or deleted from digital devices.
A key role in forensic science is played by minute traces
that are invisible to the human eye.
New tools, like the unique mass spectrometer,
enable experts to detect and examine even the smallest traces.
These traces, although they're minute, can be tremendously valuable,
as they can provide answers to the question
of what happened before and during the crime.
For example, whether a particular injury was caused
by a weapon or object found at the crime scene.
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VOICE-OVER: Crime scene reconstruction
is the process of determining or eliminating events and actions
that occurred at the crime scene.
At the NFI's purpose-built premises, forensic firearms experts
can perform a wide range of live fire tests.
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By analysing the crime scene pattern,
the location and the position of physical evidence,
NFI experts can determine whether a given weapon
could have caused the damage found at the scene
at the alleged angle and range.
When a firearm is discharged, microscopic gunshot residue particles fly out
and may land not only on the shooter, but on anyone or anything close to the weapon.
Gunshot residue analysis can be very valuable
in helping determine who may have been involved in the shooting incident
and approximately how far the gun was from the target when it was fired.
NFI experts report on the significance of their findings
and whether they could be explained by other activities or by contamination.
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One of the oldest disciplines in identifying an individual for forensic purposes,
is fingerprint analysis.
Today new techniques are taking this discipline further.
The most recent improvement, for instance, is the chemical analysis of fingerprints,
which can provide information about a suspect's behaviour.
Is he a smoker? A drug user? Or has he handled explosives?
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The discipline of forensic pathology is primarily about investigating deaths
that took place in suspicious circumstances.
It's the forensic pathologist's job to determine the cause of death
and the circumstances surrounding the incident that led to the death.
The past decade has seen a rapid development of new technologies
for DNA analysis.
One unique method developed by the NFI
now makes it possible to create a DNA profile from a trace in only a few hours.
This high-speed examination leads to quick and well-founded reconstructions of events.
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VOICE-OVER: Crime doesn't stay within a given country,
so fighting crime requires a cross-border approach.
That's why the NFI works closely together with international law enforcement agencies
in many critical areas such as intelligence,
criminal investigations, technical operations and capacity building.
VOICE-OVER: In this way, the Netherlands and the NFI in particular
contribute to international security.
Forensic science is a dynamic field whose scope is expanding all the time.
As a result there is a growing need for more in-depth understanding
of the latest forensic methods.
The NFI contributes to this enhanced understanding
of forensic research and crime scene investigation
by sharing its knowledge and expertise with like-minded institutions.
To this end, the NFI Academy offers a broad range of courses and training programmes
for law enforcement and governmental organisations worldwide.
The mission of the NFI and its six hundred professionals
is to strengthen the rule of law, nationally and internationally.
The Netherlands Forensic Institute pursues this mission
through continuous focus on broad forensic expertise,
through development of new technologies
and growing collaboration with partners around the world.