The service will cover forensics from crime scene to court

The one-stop shop for the police and criminal justice system is based in Glasgow and is the first of its kind in the UK.

The new Scottish Police Services Authority will have responsibility for the streamlined forensics service.

The director of the service hopes it will become a world leader.

Campbell Corrigan, head of CID at Strathclyde Police, said: "Any senior investigating officer, investigating a crime whether it is serious or otherwise, always relies on the forensic aspects of the investigation.

A lot of high profile cases will require some sort of forensic evidence like the Kriss Donald case, for example Carol Weston Forensic scientist

"The technology provided is almost beyond belief. In my personal experience, it is the golden nugget at the end of the day."

Forensic scientist Carol Weston said: "A lot of high profile cases will require some sort of forensic evidence like the Kriss Donald case, for example.

"There was also a domestic murder case recently where blood was found in a washing machine even though the body had not been found. This led to a conviction."