Forensic Chemistry Fighting Crimes in the Community
by Danny Slee (NSW Analytical and Environmental Group)
RACI NSW Analytical & Environmental Chemistry Group organised a webinar “Forensic Chemistry Fighting Crimes in the Community” on April 28 2021. The webinar attracted nearly 40 registrants and the event included four online presentations (using Zoom) followed by a robust Q&A session. The Group invited speakers from government laboratories, academia and the NSW police force.
The opening presentation was by Jason Tran from the Forensic & Analytical Science Services (FASS) laboratories at Lidcombe Sydney. Jason described the activities of a working forensic laboratory and demonstrated how advancements in technology and improvements in efficiency help support the community by providing quick answers to law enforcement bodies.
Merrilyn McKee from NMI Australian Forensic Drug Laboratory (AFDL) described case studies where nuclear magnetic resonance was used to identify unknown drugs. The technique can be used to determine chemical structure and quantify drugs without the need of chemical standards and compliments high resolution mass spectrometry tests.
Professor Shanlin Fu from UTS talked about the use of high-resolution mass spectrometry and machine learning to identify and characterise novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Recreational use of NPS is an ongoing challenge across a wide range of health, social, legal and law enforcement fields. Professor Fu is constantly trying to keep up with the large and ever-increasing number of NPS available in the illicit drug market.
Joshua Stephen Van Vorst is a technical Forensic Analyst from the Technical Forensic Support Unit (TFSU), Crime Scene Services Branch, NSW Police Force. The Technical Forensic Support Unit (TFSU) is part of the Crime Scene Services Branch of the NSW Police Force. Staff in the TFSU predominantly attend clandestine drug laboratories across the state of NSW. They conduct in-field analysis of chemicals using portable instrumentation, including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, gas detection, Ion Scan Spectroscopy, and also perform some wet chemical tests for presumptive identification. Joshua showed pictures of a number of clandestine facilities and the variety of sites attended by officers.
The RACI NSW Analytical & Environmental Chemistry Group organises a number of events on a regular basis. Membership of this group is open to RACI members who have a particular interest in environmental chemistry and/or analytical chemistry. The group has a mix of scientists and students and meets on a monthly basis. To find out more please go to: https://raci.org.au/Web/About-Us/Branches/NSW_branch.aspx?Code=NSB