Evaluation of the Forensic Science Regulator's recommendations regarding image comparison evidence

Expert image comparison evidence can be a vastly helpful tool in the search for the truth, a central tenet of the criminal justice system. This evidence assists the court in determining the relationship between a questioned person, vehicle or object shown in video images with known facts and has been approved of judicially in several countries. The United Kingdom's Forensic Science Regulator has recently recommended significant restrictions on the use of such evidence, effectively relegating the video expert to a technical support role only and mandating the requirement for an image content expert. The author evaluates the recommendations and finds them to be overreaching. The Regulator is attempting to limit the use of a valid forensic science when in fact training and competence are the real issues. The author proposes a more restrained approach, one that does not usurp the role of the court in determining the admissibility of evidence.