Dear Reader at Physics World,

warily I read the article by Zeno Geradts in Physics World
of July. First of all, there is no "University of Technology"
in Rijswijk. Geradts studied at a vocational college, below
the level of a typical British Polytechnic. This is not necessarily
a bad thing; people develop in the right environment.

However, unlike in Britain or the United States, there is very little 
physical forensic science at Dutch universities. (Sociology
(criminology), pathology, and biology (RNA) are represented 
to some extent.)

This is matter of ongoing discussions in The Netherlands. Several
serious judicial mistakes were made based on the "research" at
the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI). And both the NFI, where
Geradts works, and the Pieter Baan Centrum; its psychology 
counterpart, seldom have their work scrutinised in the scientific
arena. Therefore, the University Maastricht made plans to open 
its own forensic lab. But, ironically, this university has no science
departments (physics, chemistry, etc.).

Unfortunately, "Forensic Science" in The Netherlands is part of the
closed Department-of-Justice establishment, with enough influence 
and resources to keep scientists abay. Their tinkering is often taken
more serious by the judges than expert witnesses for the defence
from universities.

In psychology, professor Wagenaar, a renounced expert witness,
who, for example, testified in Israel in the trial of Demjanuk, has tried
to set a code for psychology witnesses. These rules include, among others,
the almost trivial rule that both the prosecutor and the defence receive 
the scientific report, which, bizar, is not common practice in The
Netherlands, certainly not at the NFI.

For me, it proves once more that true science is as delicate and intricate 
as art and nature and often spoilt by people with ulterior motives.

Yours sincerely,

Norbert Ligterink 

PhD, MemInstP, CPhys