CCL celebrates landmark ISO achievement

CCL Forensics Limited, the UK’s leading digital forensics specialist and part of CCL Solutions Group, has announced its successful recertification to ISO 17025 and the Forensic Science Regulator’s Codes of Practice and Conduct - and confirmed that it now has the broadest accredited scope of any provider in the industry.

CCL was one of the first UK labs to gain ISO 17025 back in 2010 and today it is still just one of a handful of facilities with the standard – this despite it being first recommended back in 2010 by the Forensic Science Regulator for all providers of digital forensic services to the criminal justice system. It will form an important part of the framework being developed by the National Police Chiefs Council’s Transforming Forensics program.

CCL, which counts the National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police and nine of the top 10 largest police forces amongst its clients, has invested heavily in extending its scope. Over 60 technicians and analysts, backed by an R&D ‘Centre of Excellence’ now offer the most comprehensive suite of devices, tests, tools and techniques; some 8000 hours have gone into developing and validating the required technology and processes during the last year.

CEO Noel McMenamin is clear on the significance of this latest achievement:
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“There are a couple of very important takeaways from what is another amazing quality milestone for CCL. First, it underlines our commitment to what is rightly seen as the gold standard and also our desire to support criminal justice through both integrity and innovation. Secondly, it’s a ‘kitemark’ that speaks for the wider business and the optimal way we conduct client work, not just for law enforcement, but for central and local government, for corporates and for law firms.

It’s important to note too that the unrivalled scope is backed by speed, scale and skill. Every client, be they in the public or private sector, has a commercial focus when procuring services – and our size, maturity and capacity allow us to deliver a premium service at a desirable price point. There doesn’t have to be a trade-off between quality and cost.

Finally, I’d like to place on record my thanks to the CCL team, led by Head of Operations Darren Powney and Quality Manager Karen Sabin and her team, for their phenomenal work around such a stringent ISO standard which does so much to underscore our ‘trusted data partner’ credentials.”

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