Official opening of new state-of-the art Specialist Firearms Facility for the forensic and ballistic examination of firearms at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, UK
LGC Forensics, a division of science service company LGC, officially opened its new Specialist Firearms Facility at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 10 May 2006.
Nick Tofiluk, assistant chief constable of West Midlands Police and official guest of honour, opened the new facilities, which form part of the National Firearms Centre (NFC) within the Royal Armouries.
The NFC is home to the largest reference collection of firearms in the world containing over 25,000 firearms, and provides the LGC Forensics facility with immediate access to an unrivalled source of equipment and expertise, putting it firmly at the forefront of firearms investigations.
Guests at the opening event were given a tour of the new facilities to view the capabilities of the new unit which encompass all disciplines, from DNA recovery to test-fire analysis in the 25 metre firing range.
They were also given the opportunity to view the remote operation of LGC Forensics latest scanning electron microscopy technology for detecting gunshot residue, which links to its gunshot residue laboratories in Tamworth, Staffordshire, located entirely separately to rule out any risk of contamination.
Commenting on the opening of the new facilities, Angela Gallop, director, LGC Forensics, said: "We are very excited about the addition of these new purpose-built laboratories which are an invaluable addition to our specialist facilities".
"Between two of our facilities, Tamworth and Leeds, LGC Forensics provides a complete range of firearms services".
"As well as being able to perform ballistics tests on firearms suspected of being used in crimes, our scientists are able to examine weapons for fingerprints, DNA evidence and tool marks".
"We are delighted to be able to add this new dimension of support to our police customers, locally and nationwide." LGC Forensics has also contributed example exhibits for the current IMPACT exhibition at the Royal Armouries, about the effects of gun crime on communities.
LGC, a science service company, says it is Europe's leading independent provider of analytical and diagnostic services and reference standards.
LGC's market-led divisions - LGC Forensics, Food Chain and Environment, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical and Chemical Services and LGC Promochem (for reference materials) - operate in a diverse range of sectors for both public and private sector customers.
Its research-led Analytical Technology and Government Chemist division houses specialist laboratories for the delivery of contracts under the DTI's National Measurement System and to serve its role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and biochemical analysis.
Growing at around 15% per annum and majority-owned since April 2004 by funds managed by Legal and General Ventures, LGC is headquartered in Teddington, Middlesex, UK.
LGC has laboratories located in Teddington, Runcorn (Cheshire), Culham (Oxfordshire), Risley (Cheshire), Tamworth (Staffordshire), Edinburgh (Scotland), Luckenwalde (Germany) and Bangalore (India).
LGC also has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and India.
A specialist firearms facility in conjunction with the Royal Armouries in Leeds is also part of LGC Forensics.
LGC has formed a joint venture in proficiency testing with Quality Management Limited and Aquacheck.
LGC recently acquired Agowa, a specialist genomics company based in Berlin, in January 2006.
The Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour, with sites at Leeds, HM Tower of London and Fort Nelson near Portsmouth.
The museum, which opened in Leeds in 1996, has been named as 'Specialist Museum of the Year' by the Good Britain Guide 2004 and was shortlisted for Britain's largest arts prize, the 2004 Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year.
