New Scotland Yard Forensics kit

The game has been developed for children aged 10 and older by genuine Metropolitan Police crime scene investigators, whose work is dramatised in the popular American police show CSI.

The Met has launched its first venture in the commercial world this month, with the "New Scotland Yard Forensics Kit" being sold for £24.99. The profits will be put back into the Met collection – the force’s new museum of police artefacts.

The kit is used to solve a series of cases, set in the fictional London borough of West Chapel.

There is a murder in which children have to study pretend fibres recovered from under the fingernails of the victim to find a culprit.

There is also blackmail note, in which handwriting analysis is used to match the suspect to the letter, a burglary where the test is to discover what tool was used to break-in, and a painting stolen from a gallery to trace using fingerprint analysis.

All the results are compared to a fictional criminal database provided on a CD Rom.

Anna Gardiner, head of the MPS Income Generation Unit, said: “We were aware that there was a keen interest amongst children in police and forensics procedure and we wanted to do something with educational value.

“Children like to understand how things happen and work. They are very interested in crime because they see it on the television in shows like CSI.

“This kit gives them a real insight and understanding of how things are done.

“I think children are very aware of what it going on around them, they see and learn these things at school, see it on TV and read it in magazines. This de-mystifies it really.

“We are very pleased with the product and think it is a very good idea.”

Oxfordshire based games company John Adams has developed the toy.

Spokesman Matthew Parlett said: "It is a real coup and an honour to be the first brand licensing partner with the Metropolitan Police Service on the New Scotland Yard brand.

“Due to the success of crime scene investigation TV programmes, interest in this type of forensics kit for children has never been greater - and to be able to partner with such a distinguished brand as New Scotland Yard has added additional depth to the kit's quality and realism, as well as being a world-famous brand name which will undoubtedly add kudos and heightened interest."