The Forensic Science Service® post monopoly - the need to understand customer expectations

The Forensic Science Service® (FSS) became an executive agency of the Home Office in 1990 as part of the UK Government´s ´Next Steps´ process. As a consequence the FSS started to charge the police for its services and that led in due course to the emergence of competition. In order to create a competitive advantage for the FSS, a clear understanding of the customer was needed. This paper describes the development of a measurement instrument to identify shortcomings in the provision of service before presenting the results of a survey of four police forces in England and Wales. Two surprising issues where performance was perceived to be of concern were the ´quality of statements´ and ´performances in court´. Other areas needing attention related to timeliness of reporting and communication. The implications of this are discussed and steps to improve operations within the FSS in order to meet the requirements of the police forces are described.