The Independent Forensic Practitioners Institute was formed in March 2006 and was established to answer the need for an organisation of independent practitioners undertaking a wide range of forensic work in New Zealand.

Members of the Institute act independently providing expert services across the spectrum of civil and criminal proceedings and are not precluded from appearing for the defence or prosecution.

OBJECTS:
1. The Objects of The Institute are

i) To provide and promote independent forensic expertise in the public interest;

ii) To recognize and promote members' qualifications, expertise and experience;

iii) To foster a professional relationship and understanding among Independent practitioners;

iv) To promote the services available from members to potential clients, and to educate potential clients on the best use of members' services;

v) To ensure that the services provided by members meet appropriate professional and ethical standards

Executive Committee

President:
Professor Glynn Owens

R Glynn Owens, Professor of Psychology, University of Auckland. Formerly Professor of Forensic Clinical Psychology, University of Wales, UK. Has been involved in the forensic field for over 25 years, and is a former Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Forensic Division Training Committee. Has been involved in criminal court cases in the UK and New Zealand, relating to charges ranging from shoplifting to murder. Expertise covers a range of areas including the reliability of witness/defendant statements, psychological factors in mitigation, psychological autopsy and other matters.

Vice President
Dr Peter Cropp

After graduating from Victoria University Peter was employed by the DSIR, (later ESR) as a forensic scientist specializing in forensic biology. During this career he appeared as an expert witness in many criminal cases. He became an expert in crime scene examination and blood pattern interpretation and was scientific advisor for the first Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO’s) course for the NZ Police. In 1988 he trained at the Home Office in Britain to introduce DNA as a forensic science tool in New Zealand.
In 1997 Peter became an independent forensic science consultant offering the following areas of expertise:

• Crime Scene evaluation and forensic photography.
• Re-examining scientific evidence – Blood spatter and DNA results.
• Identification of human blood and semen stains.

Secretary
Dr Nick Powell

Nicholas Powell is an industrial chemist, analyst, and court-going scientist. Nick holds a Doctorate from the University of Otago and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Forensic Science from the University of Auckland. He is a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Nick has given expert evidence in Court on many occasions on topics including blood spatter, contaminant drift, failure of building materials, garment damage, and geometric reconstruction of shootings. He lectures on estimating drug yield, the role of the defence forensic scientist, concrete chemistry and mix design, and clandestine drugs laboratory contamination, testing, and remediation.

Treasurer
Allan Watt

Allan Watt has had over 20 years experience in computing and had an involvement with law enforcement after joining the NZ Police in the 1980s, after a career in the NZ Army. While with the NZ Police Criminal Intelligence Section, Allan complete some of the first computer forensic examinations in 1995. He has a BBS in Accountancy and a BSc in Information Systems, he also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Forensic Science, from the University of Auckland. He has been awarded the qualification of, Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE), from IACIS. He is now completing additional post graduate research into cyber terrorism which will complete his Masters Degree. He is continually involved in civil and criminal cases providing expert testimony to the court.

Committee Members

Felicity Goodyear-Smith

Felicity Goodyear-Smith is a general practitioner and Associate Professor at the University of Auckland. She is a Member of the Royal
Society of New Zealand. She has been involved in forensic medical practice, particularly in the field of sexual assault, since 1979. She
was the co-author of the first New Zealand textbook on medical sexual assault examinations, and her forensic involvement includes clinical, teaching and research expertise. She has over 180 publications including more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, a number of which pertain to her forensic practice. She has long history of providing expert testimony in Family and Criminal Court hearings for both the prosecution and the defence. She is currently convenor of the IFPI Membership Sub-committee.

Dr Robin Watt

Dr Robin J. Watt, Forensic Anthropologist, has 35 years of national and international experience in biological anthropology. He has appeared in court for defence and prosecution. He specialises in
           a. Forensic identifications from security videos, photographs, digital images and is a world leader in this
               developing field. He has appeared for clients in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong.
           b. Skeletal identifications: this includes eg. sex, age, ethnic affinities, time since death and cause of death. Dr Watt has
               also undertaken facial reconstructions.

Dr Gordon Miskelly

Gordon Miskelly is a Senior Lecturer in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Auckland, and is Deputy Director of the Forensic Science programme run jointly by the University of Auckland and ESR Ltd.  He has supervised, or is supervising, five PhD students and over 10 MSc students on Forensic Science projects including enhancement of latent evidence, forensic applications of spectral imaging, and trace analysis of contaminants at clandestine laboratories.