FGG
Geoforensics in Policing & Law Enforcement
Keynote Lecture, University of Leicester, School of Geology
th
Saturday 18 September 2010, 09:30 to 10:15
Dr Laurance Donnelly BSc, (Hons), PhD, CGeol, CSci, EurGeol, FGS, FGSA
Forensic Geologist & Police Search Adviser, Exploration & Engineering Geologist
Geologists may assist the Police to investigate certain types of crimes to determine what happened, where
and when the particular crime occurred, such as murder, assassinations, rape and fraud. Furthermore
geologists may help the Police search for objects buried in, or concealed on, the Earth’s (ground) such as
unmarked murder victim’s graves and other burials including firearms, drugs, weapons, explosive devises,
jewellery and money. This is possible because many the basic fundamental principles of geology in
association with geological techniques and methods used to map and investigate the ground surface are
applicable to police investigations. There are a number of geologists who currently work with, or have
recently worked with the police, other law-enforcers, environmental agencies and humanitarian
organisations to help bring some types of crimes to successful conclusions. This lecture provides an
introduction and overview to the history and development of Geoforensic (known also as Forensic Geology
or Forensic Geoscience) and it shows how geology has been, and continues to be used in association with
Policing in both criminal and civil investigations, in the UK and world-wide.
Dr Donnelly is highly qualified geologist with 20 years professional experience in the UK and throughout the
world in the fields of geohazards, mining, mineral exploration and geotechnical engineering. For the past 16
years he has been involved with numerous covert Police investigations, forming part of a multi-disciplinary
Police investigative and search team and advised numerous Police forces on either ‘search’ (for graves) or
‘trace evidence’ (the analysis rocks and soils to determine if there was an association between an
offender/suspect and a crime scene or victim). This has been undertaken for high profile crimes which
include murders, rapes, missing persons and fire-arms incidents. He has professional links with Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee, Department of Forensic Anthropology Facility.
Known as ‘The Body Farm’, (also an FBI Training Facility) situated at Knoxville, in Tennessee, USA. He has
visited The Body Farm to develop research on the influence of geology on human decomposition and to help
locate homicide graves. Recently he visited Colombia, South America, as part of a USA & UK team of
forensic geologists to deliver a series of lectures on Geoforensics to an audience of judges, lawyers, police
officers, forensic geologists and other forensic scientists. He has published over 180 scientific and technical
papers, articles and books been involved in several UK and international TV and media documentaries on
geoforensics, geohazards and mining hazards. His contribution to geology has been recognised by his peers
and is the recipient of prestigious international awards from The Geological Society of London and The
Geological Society of America. He is the Founder & Chair of The Geological Society of London, Forensic
Geoscience Group, Officer of The International Union of Geological Sciences Working Group on Forensic
Geology, registered with the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) as an Expert Adviser and Board
member of The Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology (QJEGH)
For further information contact:
Laurance Donnelly, Associate Director (Geologist), Wardell Armstrong LLP, 2 The Avenue, Leigh, Greater Manchester
WN7 1ES, UK. Tel: 01942 260 101, Fax: 01942 261 754, Mbl: 07970 038 236