An Expert Witness: Forensic Science on Trial

Professor Lady Sue Black is at the Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice on Thursday 14 January, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, with doors opening at 6:15pm. The evening centres on her book An Expert Witness, in which she puts forensic science itself on trial.

The setting is a good fit for the subject. The museum occupies the building that once housed London's magistrates' courts and police station in the heart of Theatreland, and it preserves the story of the Bow Street Runners, the city's first law enforcement service. The Bow Street Magistrate's Court itself witnessed some of the pivotal moments in the evolution of forensic science: the first bullet comparison in 1835, and the examination of mutilated tissue in the trial of Dr Crippen. That's the kind of history that hangs over the room while you're there.

Baroness Black is one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists. She led her profession in the war crimes investigations in Kosovo and was deployed to Iraq, Sierra Leone and Thailand. These days she's President of St John's College, Oxford, a cross-bench peer, Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, and a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle. The talk is recommended for over-16s, and booking is essential as places are limited.

Tickets are £15 for regular admission and £10 for students if you're there in person, or £6 online via live stream on Zoom if you'd rather watch from home. The museum is at Martlett Court, off Bow Street, London WC2E 7AW.