Jam-packed forensic investigation conference returns for second time

Date: Monday 27th February 2023

Students, practitioners and experts from across North Wales took part in hands-on workshops covering scattered remains, a search dog demonstration, and listened to talks from industry leaders as part of a forensic investigation conference.

Led by the Applied Science team – including the BSc (Hons) Forensic Science and MRes Forensic Anthropology & Bioarchaeology courses – at Wrexham Glyndwr University, more than 70 people came along to the two-day conference, which focussed on the theme ‘From death to discovery’.

Keynote speaker, Dr Ben Alexander, travelled over from Texas State University to talk about his experience training search dogs at FACTS – their Forensic Anthropology Centre, the event drew in students, practitioners and experts from both academia and industry.

The conference, which took place earlier this month, was packed with a range of presentations from universities across the UK, speakers from both North Wales Police and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as well as a speaker live streamed from Nigeria.

The event was held in partnership with UKK9-Training for Excellence – a leading organisation in delivering training to search and rescue dogs and their handlers to the emergency services.

The research, which was shared in short talks and on posters, was complemented by the opportunity for attendees to participate in hands-on workshops covering scattered remains and advanced skeletal identification. 

A search dog demonstration from National Association of Security Dog Users (NASDU) qualified cadaver detection dog, Scout and his handler, Vinny Wiliams. 

Amy Rattenbury, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Wrexham Glyndwr University, said: “Events like this are so important, particularly for students and early career researchers and so we wanted to make it as accessible and worthwhile as possible. 

“We have already had people reaching out about future projects and opportunities to be involved in our next event so we think our next theme will be one of collaboration.”

David Jones, Honorary Fellow of the University and Lead Instructor from UKK9-Training for Excellence, added: “Many thanks to Wrexham Glyndwr University for hosting the conference in partnership with UK-K9. The facilities, speakers and demonstrations were excellent and feedback from all delegates, speakers and exhibitors was very positive.” 

Photo credit: Alex Bytheway of AJB Photography