ABSTRACT
The judgement could be seen as a proscription of the use of Bayesian approach in evaluating scientific evidence, other than DNA evidence, and not surprisingly caused considerable concern among forensic scientists not only within the United Kingdom but also in other jurisdictions. The Royal Statistical Society’s (RSS) intention was that this group would provide an interface for the Royal Statistical Society with the legal, scientific and justice communities. In the jurisdiction of England and Wales, the forensic science regulator also sets out guidance for expert witnesses giving evidence in the criminal justice system. The scientist would have to know the size of the potential population that could have left the trace before a true probability could calculate that the trace came from the victim. The RSS considers that there are seven key concepts that expert witnesses, forensic scientists and statisticians need to be familiar with to interpret and describe statistical data and probabilities.
