Recommendation FP1: Fingerprint evidence as opinion
From The Fingerprint Inquiry Report, published 14 December 2011.
Recommendation
Fingerprint evidence should be recognised as opinion evidence, not fact, and those involved in the criminal justice system need to assess it as such on its merits.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended treating fingerprint evidence as opinion rather than fact in criminal proceedings. In December 2011, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill stated that advances had occurred in forensic services and expressed confidence that the recommendations would enhance them, without mentioning fingerprint evidence or its assessment on its merits (Kenny MacAskill response, Dec 2011).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
About this summary
This recommendation asks for cultural or behavioural change, which is difficult to verify from published sources alone. The record reflects policy commitments rather than measured outcomes.
Government response
We should all recognise that there have been significant advances in the delivery of Scotland's forensic services since the McKie case, and I am confident that the recommendations from this Inquiry will further enhance these services.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Scottish Government's news release of 14 December 2011, the day the report was published, is its only published statement on the recommendations. Its one sentence about them is given for all of them together and states no position. The Scottish Police Services Authority's release of the same day accepts "all of the recommendations made of it by the Inquiry" without listing them; the site records that on the recommendations addressed to its forensic service. The Authority no longer exists, and the site files its words under the Scottish Police Authority, which took over its forensic services in 2013.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Scottish Government has been found in the sources searched (last checked 18 June 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Scottish Government
Response