The largest European conference on forensic sciences was held at the Prague Congress Centre from the 6th until the 11th of September, 2015. A series of expert presentations, including the latest findings in the case of unsolved murders of prostitutes in England, will be presented.
The largest European conference on forensic sciences is held at the Prague Congress Centre from the 6th until the 11th of September, 2015. A series of expert presentations, including the latest findings in the case of unsolved murders of prostitutes in England, will be presented.
The opening ceremony was attended by Czech police chief Dr. Tomáš Tuhý, President of the Academy of Sciences Prof. Jiří Drahoš, Rector of Charles University in Prague, Prof. Tomas Zima and Rector of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague Prof. Karel Melzoch.
The 7th European Academy of Forensic Sciences (EAFS 2015) is organised by the Prague Institute of Criminology, Czech Police on initiation of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) supported by professional services by C-IN. This conference is held every three years. The first meeting took place in 1997 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where 470 specialists gathered from 39 countries. In the following years, cities such as Krakow, Istanbul, Helsinki, Glasgow and Hague acted as a conference venues.
“Pushing boundaries” is the motto of this year´s conference. “This corresponds to the focus of the five main themes, among which will be discussed, for example forensic laboratory management and future work at the scene”, said the Head of Prague Institute of Criminology Dr.Pavel Kolář.
Nearly 1000 delegates from around the world are registered for EAFS 2015. Among them are experts from forensic laboratories, medical researchers, academics and university students. “The conference program includes more than 700 contributions. We have selected about 350 of the most interesting lectures and almost 400 posters, which were divided into 18 scientific sections and 14 thematic workshops “, says Dr. Kolář.
Invitation to the conference was accepted by a number of globally recognized experts, for example. Dr. Max Houck – Director of Department of Forensic Institute, Washington, Dr.Alastair Ross – Director of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences in Australia and Dr.Wim M. M. Heijnen – the Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine in the Netherlands, who worked on identifying victims of the crash of flight MH17 in Ukraine. Their plenary lectures will surely be one of the highlights of the conference.
Within the scientific program the new findings in a case from 1888 will be presented, when the serial murders of prostitutes occurred in England. The offender, who acquired the nickname Jack the Ripper, has not yet been identified. Finnish geneticist Jari Louhelainen participated in the research, which attempted to acquire new facts to this case.
For the Prague Institute of Criminology, and the Czech Police, the organisation of this event is a matter of prestige. “It will be the largest conference on forensic sciences, which has ever been held in the Czech Republic. It’s both, a great honour and a responsibility to ensure the complete satisfaction of all participants “, says Dr. Kolář. The entire C-IN team is therefore proud that its PCO services can contribute to the smooth running of such an important conference in the forensic field.
