CCL confirms ISO 17025 accreditation for another year and marks successful transition to the FSR’s new Code of Practice

CCL Solutions Group has announced that its digital forensics lab, Europe’s largest ISO 17025 accredited facility, has gone from 12 years and been re-certified by UKAS for its 13th consecutive year.

The achievement takes on extra significance this year given that the Forensic Science Regulator’s Act 2021 came into force on October 2nd – bringing with it a new Code of Practice (COP) for the conducting of Forensic Science Activities (FSAs). The ISO 17025 standard has always been viewed as one of the simplest ways to demonstrate compliance with the Code: CCL is now deemed to have successfully transitioned to the COP, with the standards set out becoming statutory for the first time.

Commenting on the news CCL’s CEO Noel McMenamin said:

“This is more than an annual recertification; this is a major milestone. With the FSR Act 2021 finally in play, the FSR can now sanction Forensic Service Providers (FSPs) who do not comply or who fall below the ‘published standards’. The Code also has the status of being admissible in criminal proceedings; and, by inference, without compliance potentially inadmissible.

As a result, there has never been greater pressure on those working in the criminal justice system to demand compliance and to demonstrate it – for each and every stage of an FSA as defined by the Code. With our recertification and successful transition to the new COP, CCL is perfectly positioned to help alleviate that pressure by delivering fully compliant, end-to-end computer and mobile forensics.”

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