Unable to exclude findings

Fingerprint Inquiry · The Fingerprint Inquiry Report · Issued 14 December 2011 · Addressed to: COPFS

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

Before a finding of 'unable to exclude' is led in evidence, careful consideration will require to be given to (a) the types of mark for which such a finding is meaningful and (b) the proper interpretation of the finding.

Fingerprint Inquiry, The Fingerprint Inquiry Report · 14 Dec 2011 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

Government response: Accepted. No public evidence of delivery has been found.

Sources

Government response (2011-12-15): Accepted Text: Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill responded on 15 December 2011, the day after the Fingerprint Inquiry report was published. The Scottish Government accepted the inquiry's recommendations. MacAskill stated: "I am confident that the recommendations from this Inquiry will further enhance these service

How was this evidence gathered?

Evidence searched by baseline-data-v1 on 17 Aug 2026

Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)

This recommendation asks for cultural or behavioural change, which is difficult to verify from published sources alone. The evidence above reflects policy commitments rather than measured outcomes.

Response — verbatim from government

●Scottish Government

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill responded on 15 December 2011, the day after the Fingerprint Inquiry report was published. The Scottish Government accepted the inquiry's recommendations. MacAskill stated: "I am confident that the recommendations from this Inquiry will further enhance these services." The Scottish Police Services Authority began drawing up an action plan to implement improvements in time for integration into the new Police Scotland in 2013.

Scottish Government · 15 Dec 2011

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

31 Dec 2016 · Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Careful consideration now given to 'unable to exclude' findings before they are led in evidence. COPFS updated guidance on interpretation of fingerprint evidence. View source → Confirmed Completed

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

View Source PDF →

Recommendation code: FP66
Issued: 14 Dec 2011
Time since issued: 15 years
Status: Accepted

Addressed to: COPFS (primary)
Jurisdiction: Scotland

Cross-cutting themes: Clinical negligence harms learning
Tags: Evidence; Court; Interpretation

Navigate: ← FP60

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.