Dave Barclay

Dave Barclay is a forensic adviser to the police forces and the media and is a Chemistry and forensic science lecturer.

Dave Barclay retired in 2005 after 10 years as Head of Physical Evidence at the UK National Crime and Operations Faculty. There he undertook physical evidence reviews in 233 murders or murder series. In 2005, he served as the scientific advisor to the UK Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into Forensic Science.

Prof. Barclay is currently an Honorary Professor in the Dept of Chemistry at Hull University, and since 2006 has held the post of Senior lecturer at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen and is a guest lecturer at several other UK Universities.

He frequently lectures to senior police management courses, lay and forensic science audiences in the UK and abroad on the difficulties of maximizing the forensic science contribution to investigations. He is currently working for several UK police forces and a state of Australia on high profile murders.

He has worked as forensic adviser to several TV programmes, including Waking the Dead, Timewatch and Horizon. Recently he took part as scientific advisor and front of camera in several TV programmes on the Madeleine McCann disappearance, including ‘Despatches-Madeleine’ and Sky –‘The Madeleine McCann mystery’.

He is part of the ‘Murder, Mystery and Microscopes’ team which aims to explain the real science behind popular crime fiction via a national series of public lectures. He is currently collaborating with author Margaret Murphy on a new crime novel.