Forensic Analysis

When forensics or forensic sciences are mentioned, most individuals think about the crime that forensics entails. The gore, the blood splatter analyses, bullet projections, DNA analyses, death investigations, semen stains, bite marks, and rape kits to name a few things that involve forensic investigations, but those things are just a small part of a much larger picture. Forensics is extremely broad. Forensics is the application of the scientific method and biology, chemistry, computer science, and physics to assist law enforcement during criminal investigations. Forensic science plays a vital role in the criminal justice system. Forensic scientists are the individuals who collect, preserve, analyze evidence during a criminal investigation,
The field of forensics started to take shape with the work of a French criminologist, Edmond Locard, who became known as the Sherlock Homes of France. He formulated the basic principle of forensic science, "Locard's Exchange Principle". The Locard's Exchange Principle, stated by Hess, Orthmann, and Cho (2017), is "Whenever two objects come into contact with each other (e.g., a criminal and an object or objects at a crime scene), there is always a transfer of information, however minute, between them. In other words, a criminal always removes something from the scene and leaves behind incriminating evidence. (p. 133)" It is a lasting principle that is applicable to forensic work worldwide and is still incorporated in today's detective work. Much of the forensic investigation performed at crime scenes utilize the Locard's Exchange Principle to collect and analyze evidence, which is known as the area of
A few of the issues we will focus on stem from the lack of funding, which produces a few of the issues, such as, the absence of scientific and applied research focusing on new technology and innovation, and a shortage of adequate training and continued education for forensic science practitioners. A couple ways to be able to solve these issues would be to receive the funding for proper programs to educate and train forensic scientists throughout their careers. Technology is continually advancing, which means that the forensic scientists need to keep up with the advances. Programs to assist with that would need to be put in place. These programs would teach forensic scientists to be accurate, reliable, and precise in their research and observations. Human error is going to be a constant factor, but the more practice, with certain policies in place, would help lessen the potential error. Funding is a major issue in every aspect of the criminal justice system. There may never be the appropriate amount of funding towards any aspect in the criminal justice system, which means they are just going to have to adjust to the amount they receive. There is also a big issue dealing with the CSI effect. The CSI effect, explained by Hess, Orthmann, and Cho (2017) is the "Phenomenon in which unrealistic portrayals of forensic science translate into equally unrealistic