Expert in Ballistics and Firearms
Philip Boyce is a leading world expert in Firearms, Gunshot Residue (GSR) and Tool Marks. He has examined countless items, scenes and related items; providing expertise at medical examinations, post mortems and exhumations. He has provided thousands of expert statements for both the prosecution and defence and given expert witness testimony for courts, both in the UK and internationally.
Philip has a BSc in Chemistry/Biology and has been employed as a Forensic Scientist since 1984, gaining his aptitude and fundamental knowledge of firearms whilst serving in the Territorial Army from 1977. He left at the rank of Sergeant Technician/Weapons Instructor upon completion of his MSc in Forensic Science at Strathclyde University, immediately joining FSNI (Forensic Science Northern Ireland) where he remained until 2002. Philip’s 18 years of service during the Northern Ireland troubles have given him an unrivalled level of Firearms/Ballistics/Gunshot Residue/Tool Marks and scene expertise within the UK. He is able to undertake any Firearms, Gunshot Residue or Tool Marks case UK wide.
Headhunted by Forensic Alliance (now LGC Forensics Ltd) in 2002 to manage the design and build of their firearms department, Philip left LGC after leading the firearms team when he was again headhunted in 2006 by Key Forensic Services Ltd (KFS). After setting up the Firearms facility for KFS, Philip finally set up his own company, Forensic Scientific, enabling him to work as an independent consultant concentrating on defence cases, appeals and training. Philip remains a world expert in his field, dealing with casework for both the prosecution and defence.
During his career with Forensic Provider Companies Philip was a participating member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENSFI) and the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE). Philip is a Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) expert advisor and in the past he was part of the NFFID (National Forensic Firearms Intelligence Database) Service Providers Group and contributed to the NABIS (National Ballistics Intelligence Service) program as a Senior Associate; NABIS is now live across the UK. Philip has received training in the use of the IBIS system both in cartridges and 3D bullet acquisition (with the Metropolitan Police) and is able to use this training for complex casework. He was a Registered Forensic Practitioner and a Specialist assessor for Firearms, Ballistics and Comparison Macroscopy up to March 2009 when the register closed. Philip continues to be involved in Firearms initiatives and having recently completed his role as a UNDP (United Nations Development Program) Forensic Ballistics Advisor for Bosnia he has now taken on the role of advisor to UNLIREC (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs – Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean). He is also a member of the International Expert Committee for the Forensic Chemistry and Physics Laboratory of Health Sciences Authority, Singapore.
