Toxicology

All the work our toxicology team puts into the laboratory and behind the scenes means we are able to deliver over 20,000 road traffic (drink/drug driving) cases a year, assisting police forces up and down the country in making our roads safer. In addition we deliver approximately 2500 complex criminal toxicology cases annually, assisting in the investigation of some of the most serious crimes and contributing to a safer society.

The EFS Toxicology team offers the largest portfolio of UKAS accredited methods across the UK Forensic Toxicology providers including substances such as alcohol, commonly abused drugs, commonly prescribed medications, novel psychoactive substances, and synthetic cannabinoids (SPICE). Our methodologies are optimised to detect minute or sub-therapeutic traces of drugs as well as common abuse or overdose levels so we can address the variety of questions that arise from the range of case types we undertake. These methods are constantly evolving to support the ever changing requirements of the toxicology marketplace to ensure that we are always providing the best service possible. 

The team has decades of experience to rely upon and is constantly adapting to the changing toxicology environment around us so that we are always providing the best service we can. That means keeping up to date with current drug trends, which we are able to do with the assistance of our sister Bulk Drugs team; it means ensuring we are able to detect new drugs as soon as they appear on the market and it means updating our methods and procedures to be compliant with the current demands and requirements. 

Our Road Traffic Toxicology service can provide fast, cost-effective and high quality analyses of blood and urine samples taken from individuals involved in drink and/or drug driving offences, as detailed in Section 5, Section 4 and Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in England and Wales. We also provide reports and advice for alcohol technical defence cases.

Through our bespoke Complex Toxicology service we can provide testing for body fluids, tissue samples, hair, and drinks/drink residues for a variety of case types such as drug-facilitated crime, sudden or unexplained deaths, assault, administration of a noxious substance, or murder. Using our extensive experience and expertise we develop a tailor-made approach for each case based on the specific circumstances presented and the unique issues to be addressed such as:

• Was an overdose of a drug taken?
• Could the presence of a number of drugs that interact, including alcohol, account for death?
• Was an individual taking the correct dose of their prescribed medication such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants?
• Are substances present which may have affected the individual’s behaviour or judgement?
• Could an individual have been “spiked” with an unknown substance?
• Do the toxicological results support a given scenario?

Our team of Reporting Scientists are trained to provide impartial Expert Witness evidence that is equally informative as it is accessible to all interested parties through written reports or oral evidence in the courtroom. Our decades of experience enables our Scientists to manage the most difficult defence challenges with ease and confidence. There is hardly a working day of the year that goes by without at least one member of our reporting team preparing themselves to take the stand and give expert testimony in a Magistrates’ or Crown Court to assist the Criminal Justice System. As such, members of our reporting team are regularly and fiercely challenged on their evidence, and we embrace every opportunity we encounter to further our expertise and understanding of this cutting-edge science so that we will always be ready to meet the next challenge.