Crime pays

Sorting out the fact from the fiction

It all started over a century ago in 1887 with the greatest detective who never lived. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, who first introduced the public to the science of forensics, was such a masterful creation that to many he appeared a flesh-and-blood person. Witness the number of tourists who still search in vain for 221b Baker Street.

The contemporary school of Scottish crime writing is no less extraordinary. Ian Rankin, the creator of Inspector Rebus, is the UK's number 1 best-selling crime author. Described as 'the most compelling mind in modern crime fiction' (Independent), Edinburgh-based Rebus solved many a crime and was the subject of a major TV series. Sharing the noir light with him are Quintin Jardine, author of the highly acclaimed Bob Skinner crime series; Val McDermid whose 'Wire in The Blood' was televised; one of Scotland's hottest new literary talents, Louise Welsh, with her remarkable debut 'The Cutting Room'; Alexander McCall Smith, whose The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series counts Laura Bush amongst its fans; Edinburgh-born Paul Johnston, whose award-winning 'Body Politic' introduced the world to Quintilian Dalrymple; Ian Pattison, whose 'Sweet and Tender Hooligan' looks at life from the criminal's perspective; and Paul Ferris, a convicted gangster himself, who brought a touch more realism to the crime genre with his novel, 'Deadly Divisions'.

Talking of reality checks, Scotland's contribution to crime fighting isn't all fictional. Glasgow gave the world its most famous real detective Allan J Pinkerton and who can forget the original Edinburgh Detective, James McLevy. A likely influence on the creator of Sherlock Holmes, this late 19th century policeman was commended for 'turning author and publishing a book laying open the mysteries of his ingenious profession.'

We've had our fair share of shady characters too, of course, which perhaps goes some of the way to explaining our deep interest in crime. Notorious names from Scotland's past include the legendary Burke and Hare; Bible John, who preyed on vulnerable women; the serial killer Peter Manuel; and Sawney Bean who, together with his clan of cannibals, terrorised south-west Scotland in the 16th century.

Enquiring minds

Thankfully, Scots are just as obsessed with unravelling crimes as they are writing about them. Working away behind the scenes is a long and distinguished line of forensic experts. Historical noteworthies include Henry Faulds, a Scottish physician working in Tokyo, who in 1880 published a paper suggesting that fingerprints could be used to identify offenders; and Edinburgh-born Professor Sidney Smith, founder President of The British Association of Forensic Medicine. Carrying on the baton today is Professor Sue Black, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist who headed the British forensic team in Kosovo. Professor Black is Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at Dundee University, heading up the division which allows more Scottish graduates to play a key role in bringing war criminals and terrorists to justice. Most recently Sue and her team have been the stars of a BBC series 'History Cold Case' which follows the team as they help unravel crimes from the past.

The degree at Dundee University, is the first undergraduate course of its kind in the country, and complements existing Forensic and Forensic-related courses at University of Abertay Dundee, University of Dundee, Glasgow Caledonian University, Heriot-Watt University, University of Paisley, The Robert Gordon University, University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde. Another leading light in the forensic world is Professor Adrian Linacre, a senior lecturer in forensic pathology at the University of Strathclyde. The peculiarities that he identified with a former MP's suspected suicide in Thailand led to the arrest of the victim's millionaire brother.

Complementing these new found forensic skills are advances in crime fighting technology. Thanks to remarkable developments in DNA testing, for example, Scottish police may soon be able to find the criminal behind a theft of osprey eggs in Perthshire. How? By extracting a DNA profile from skin cells contained in dried sweat on the batteries left behind in a torch. From eagle eyes to another part of the anatomy, did you know that criminals could soon be identified by their earprints? No, it's not as odd as it sounds. Forensic experts at Glasgow University are developing a computer system that will allow detectives to match earprints, capitalising upon the facts that a) housebreakers often press their ears to doors and windows to check for signs of life inside and that b) no two ears are the same. Scientists at the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, meanwhile, believe their 'organic fingerprinting' technique, which was originally developed to identify plant and soil samples, could also prove helpful in criminal investigations. Fragments of vegetation or soil collected from suspects could be precisely analysed to link them to crime scenes.

Elsewhere in Aberdeen, MaxIMT has developed a groundbreaking software system that will enable detectives to return to the scene of a crime, reproduced in virtual reality, to search for clues and record vital information. The new system, called R2S (Return to Scene), uses a special camera to produce 360 degree images of a whole room. It has already been used successfully in the investigation of three murders. East Kilbride-based Memex, meanwhile, boasts a client list that includes the FBI's National Drug Intelligence Group, New Jersey State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, five out of the nine police forces in Scotland and a further eight in England and Wales. A spin-out from Heriot-Watt University, Memex is a world leader in Criminal Intelligence Software. Its flagship Memex Information Engine (MIE) enables the intelligence and policing communities to search data rapidly, answer complex questions and identify patterns of events that will assist the intelligence-gathering process.

With such an armoury at our disposal, it's not surprising that more crimes are being solved faster. Criminals be warned the truth is out there and we're getting better at finding it!