Focus on forensics
We look at the career profile of Dstl's Principal Forensic Investigator.
Sharon Broome is the Principal Forensic Investigator, working within the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl) Forensic Explosives Laboratory (FEL).
She describes her career highlight as:
The work I did as part of the team investigating the July 2005 London bombings. Our work directly supported the criminal justice process both for the atrocities committed on 7 July and the attempted bombings on 21 July.
The FEL has been in existence in some form or another since the 1870s with experts being called upon to help in the fight against terrorists and criminals.
Funded by the Home Office, the FEL deals with cases which range from the misuse of fireworks to improvised explosive devices, and working at the crime scene or testing samples in the lab. After the Explosion
Sharon has been an expert witness for several hundred cases and coordinates high profile and complex forensic investigations for UK police and other government departments, particularly when foreign governments are involved.
In her 24 years of service at Dstl, Sharon has worked on a number of well-known cases – including IRA attacks, the Glasgow Airport terrorist attack and the London bomb attacks in July 2005. She also served as the UK forensic lead for support to the Bali Bombings in 2002.
Sharon has expertise in examining devices and explosive effects and works alongside other forensic experts, making sure the FEL is recognised nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence.
She has been seconded to the Home Office twice and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as the first Exploitation Coordinator for a suite of deployed forensic laboratories at Camp Bastion.
Sharon co-authored a chapter within the 2nd edition of the Alexander Beveridge book ‘Forensic Investigation of Explosions’ and is sole author for a similar chapter in the publication ‘Crime Scene to Court’, used to teach Forensic Science in universities
In recognition of Sharon’s work, the Metropolitan Police have awarded her three commendations for her support to their investigations.
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