Forensic Science: Its Relevance Within the Criminal Justice System Forensic science has, since its inception, had an impact on a number of fields, including education, health, law enforcement (the criminal justice system), to name but a few. Of these, the criminal justice system can be rightly considered the greatest beneficiary of forensic science (Fantino, 2007)
Of these, the criminal justice system can be rightly considered the greatest beneficiary of forensic science (Fantino, 2007). Thanks to technological advancement and increased public awareness, all aspects of the justice system today including but not limited to policing, investigations of crime, security efforts and court processes rely, to a large extent, on forensic science (Garrison, 2013)
During criminal investigations, samples of footprints, fingerprints, saliva, skin cells, sweat or blood are collected from the crime scene and presented to a forensic laboratory for analysis by experts. The expert report is then presented as evidence during court proceedings (Houck & Siegel, 2010)
Policing: DNA is an individual's genetic blueprint, unique to them and easily identifiable (Garrison, 2013). It is for this reason that DNA evidence has been able to provide solutions in cases that had veered off the track due to lack of witnesses or insufficient physical evidence (Stevens, n
The primary aim of introducing and implementing forensic science in various aspects, in organizations, is the fact that it has been ascertained to assist in defining various causes of death among individuals from diverse communities, helps in identifying different suspects that help in analyzing proof of diverse scenes. This scheme has also been found effective in ensuring that missing persons in the community have been identified and found, which brings joy in diverse communities (Brooks and Choudhury, 2002)
This has created more interest in most organizations implementing various aspects of forensic science, and ensuring that various needs of individuals from diverse communities have been ascertained and attained successfully. This has helped improve issues related to problem solving and analysis as well as increasing production processes in diverse organizations, in the global market (Brown, 1995)
This has created more interest in most organizations implementing various aspects of forensic science, and ensuring that various needs of individuals from diverse communities have been ascertained and attained successfully. This has helped improve issues related to problem solving and analysis as well as increasing production processes in diverse organizations, in the global market (Brown, 1995)
Therefore, working hand in hand helps ensure that procedures are undertaken in the nation quickly, and crime rates are reduced at higher levels in the nation. This has helped ensure that the level of operation of the trained professionals working with the criminal justice team in the nation is quick at identifying crimes and solving various problems associated with crime (Carper, 2002)
In criminal investigations, the scientific method underlies every component of forensic analysis. Furthermore, aside from the requirement that any method used to establish evidence of a crime be supported by a valid, testable, repeatable hypothesis, the burden of proof on the prosecution also requires any relevant test used to establish guilt be sufficiently accurate to a very high degree of certainty (Kobalinsky and Liotti, et al
Comparative bullet lead analysis was first used in 1963 in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Solomon, 2007)
An extremely diverse array of materials may be located or associated with a crime scene. Each may have some potential for providing reliable forensic evidence" (Horswell and Fowler, 2004, p
For example, even though DNA matching is the most respected of all forensic techniques, it cannot link presence of a person in a room with the crime that took place there. (Udall, 1990) Police has been using forensic science for decades now, but repeated blows against its credibility are to likely to its progress in future
DNA testing however revealed no link between the accused and the forensic evidence that had been gathered by police from the crime scene. (Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, 2001) The reason forensic science especially the latest technologies including DNA matching is important is evident from the fact that in the year 2000, some 68 alleged criminals imprisoned in federal and state courts were declared innocent
Additionally, DNA analysis is a crucial part of modern forensic science. The research states that "since 1985 DNA typing of biological material has become one of the most powerful tools for personal identification in forensic medicine and criminal investigations" (Benecke, 1997, p 181)
Anatomical analysis is crucial for determining how a crime occurred, especially in regards to the cause of death. Essentially, "the science of forensics draws upon a body of knowledge gained from observation, experiment, and experience, and applies that understanding to questions of interest within the legal system" (Byrd & Castner, 2009, p 519)
Finally, computer forensics is one of the most recent developments that law enforcement use today in order to assist in criminal investigations. Obviously, "the ultimate objective of computer forensics is to collect and analyze computer evidence in a manner enabling its successful admission in court" (Casey, 2001, p 69)
In shooting cases involving fire arms, forensic specialists work with ballistic evidence to match fire arms to shell casings and bullets left at the scene. According to the research, "ballistics and the trajectory of projectiles recovered will be of importance" in helping paint the picture of how the violent incident occurred reliably enough to stand in a court of law (Douglass & Burgess, 2011, p 142)
It can be as large as a house or as small as a fiber. It can be as fleeting as an odor or as obvious as the destructive results at the scene of an explosion" (Fisher & Fisher, 2012, p 1)
However, recent evidence has suggested the difficulty in establishing such evidence, despite acceptance in the past. "In 2008, the National Academy of Sciences published Ballistic Imaging, which questioned the fundamental assumptions of uniqueness and reproducibility underlying firearm identification evidence" (DesPortes 2014)
In your opinion, does forensic firearms examination meet the standards for Daubert and Frye? Why or why not? The Daubert standard rendered federal judges the status of gatekeepers of scientific knowledge in terms of its relevance to the proceedings and also its reliability. This includes the use of expert witnesses: "The trial judge must ensure that any and all scientific testimony or evidence admitted is not only relevant, but reliable" by "a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology is scientifically valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts" of the case" (Lyons 2015)