SPA names new Director of Forensic Services

Fiona Douglas, currently the head of Strategy and Change for SPA Forensic Services, will take up her new role on October 1 following the retirement of Tom Nelson.

SPA chair Martyn Evans said Ms Douglas brings a “a wealth of experience and skills” to the position and her appointment follows an “extensive UK recruitment and selection process”.

As Director of Forensic Services, Ms Douglas will play a key role taking forward the Forensic 2026 Strategy, building capacity, performance and improvement across the service.

Reporting directly to the SPA chair, she will be responsible for the strategic direction, performance and scientific excellence of Forensic Services in Scotland.

Ms Douglas has 24 years’ experience working in forensic science, with the past ten spent in Scotland.

Mr Evans said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Fiona Douglas as the next Director of SPA Forensic Services.

“Forensic Services plays a unique and important role keeping people safe and supporting the criminal justice system in Scotland. Fiona has a wealth of experience and skills in the discipline, working alongside Tom Nelson for the last ten years. This is a fantastic opportunity for her to now lead and further develop the UK’s largest public sector forensic services organisation. I look forward to working closely with her on that.”

Ms Douglas added: “I am delighted to be appointed Director of SPA Forensic Services. I am incredibly proud of the world-leading and unique role that Forensic Services plays in the detection of crime in Scotland.

“Across Forensic Services we have a highly skilled and dedicated workforce who are at the heart of everything we do. I look forward to working with them and our wider partners across policing, the CROWN and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner to build on the progress we have made in recent years and strengthen our service and contribution further.”

Prior to becoming head of Strategic Change, Ms Douglas was head of Biology and led the national development of this area of Forensic Services within the SPA, including the development and implementation of the new DNA24 technology that is now at the heart of DNA services provided to the justice system in Scotland.

She has been instrumental in the development and ongoing delivery of the Forensic 2026 Strategy since becoming the head of Strategic Change in August 2019.

Before working in Scotland, Ms Douglas worked at various locations in England and Wales within the Government-owned Forensic Science Service with responsibility across multi-disciplinary forensic evidence and organisational change.

Her first appearance at the Forensic Services Committee in her new role will be on October 25.