Chemicals firm DSM and Maastricht University have joined forces to set up the Netherlands’ second specialist forensic institute, news agency ANP reports on Friday. The institute opens its doors on May 1 and will have a workforce of between 50 and 60.

DSM and the university say the country needs a second forensic science centre because of the increasingly high demands placed on forensic evidence in criminal proceedings. There is also a need for a new institute to offer contra expertise and second opinions, they say.