Forensic Science in Policing: A New Frontier - Research Paper Example

Forensic Science in Policing: A New Frontier Introduction A broad perspective of forensic science in the words of Saferstein, 1981, p.3 reads as “forensic science is the application of science to law”. This broad perspective of forensic science makes any and every branch of science integral to forensic science, should any part of it be found useful to law. The term law in this perspective translates to any branch of the administrative system involved in the maintenance of law, thus including the police department. Forensic science is not new, but the modern era has witnessed dramatic advances in science and its tool technology and this has its strong implications on forensic science as it applies these advances to law. Forensic Science The scientific method with regard to its role in forensic science involves three components of analysis, comparison, and evaluation. Analysis can be taken as the study of an unknown item for the purpose of determining its essential characteristics, while comparison can be taken as evaluating these characteristics in the light of their comparison with other known items, and evaluation as discriminating the similarities and dissimilarities with objective of identification in mind. The term forensic is taken to imply the appropriateness for a court of law. It is this understanding of the two terms and their combination that makes for any branch of science when applied to law becoming a part of forensic science. As a result forensic includes many diverse fields that include and are not restricted to forensic medicine, toxicology, psychology, anthropology, specialists in fingerprints, firearms, tool marks, documents, and criminology. (2). Policing Policing in broad terms can be taken to mean the efforts taken by society to curb or prevent the occurrence of crime. The conventional model of policing involves the police force through random patrols, rapid uniform response, deployment at crime sites after the occurrence, and detection of a crime for investigation purposes. Thus the emphasis in the conventional model of policing lies in the reliance on the law enforcement agency and the legal system as the main means to curb or prevent the occurrence of crime. Variances to this conventional model have appeared in the form of community policing and problem-oriented policing as supportive measures by society to curb and prevent the occurrence of crime. (3). Forensic Science in Policing Forensic science finds a significant role for it in policing, with particular emphasis on the role that it can play in the investigation of criminal acts. This has resulted in the growing use of forensic science among other investigation tools to assist the law enforcement agencies in the detection and investigation of crimes. Forensic science is used in particular when there is a paucity of evidence using other tools for the detection and investigation of crimes. In these circumstances forensic scientists use their knowledge, skills and tools of forensic science to uncover hidden evidence to assist the detection and investigation of criminal acts. Forensic scientists using the wide array of forensic tools uncover evidence that aids in bringing those responsible for the crime to justice. (4). Forensic Science the New Frontier An assessment of the history of crime investigation demonstrates that in essence it has remained the same, because the basic evidence of the crime has remained the same. The availability of fingerprints at the scene of the crime or on the tools of the crime still continues, though the surfaces may have changed with time and technology. Yet, forensic science has also advanced to make use of any the fingerprints available at the scene of the crime or on the tools of the crime to aid in the investigation. The essential causes of death have not changed with time, but the tools used to cause death have changed with advance in technology. (5). Forensic science helps investigators to keep abreast of technological advances used in the perpetuation of the crime to help in its investigation. Trace evidences were available earlier at the scene of the crime, but if these trace evidences are now being more easily accessed for evaluation to help in the criminal investigation, then it is the advances in the scientific tools of technology through the like of electron microscopy, neutron activation analysis and gas chromatography that have made this possible. Given that the fabric of criminal investigation has not altered with time, then the edge that criminal investigation has gained arises from forensic science as the new frontier in policing. (5). Several illustrations help to show forensic science as the new frontier in policing. Let us first take the case of identification of the victim of a crime so badly mutilated or burnt that conventional means of identifying the victim are futile. Forensic science through DNA typing provides a solution for identifying the victim. It becomes more relevant now that DNA typing is accepted as a scientifically defensible approach for identification accepted in the courts of law. (6). DNA profiling has become such an important forensic technique in using tissue fragments to for correct identification of the perpetuators of the crime that it has led to the conviction of several criminals who would have otherwise got away and helping to clear innocent people wrongly convicted. (7). Moving on to investigation crimes involving the use of explosives, forensic science has proven its utility. A recent advance in this field is in crimes where explosives based on ammonium nitrate are involved. Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry is proving to be capable of telling whether the explosives used at the site match the explosives found at a suspect’s residence. (8). Establishing the time of death is an important component in the investigation of a violent death. Forensic medicine uses several methods to arrive at the time of death, but is seldom able to accurately pinpoint the exact time of death. Recent advances in forensic sciences using tiny synthetic hair in a process known as solid phase micro-extraction to measure gases from microbial action released during decomposition holds promise of a portable device to establish the time of death of a victim. (9). Polygraph tests and brain scans are employed by criminal investigators to find out if a suspect is telling lies. None of these methods are fool proof. Behavioural psychology may provide a solution for this, as it is found that liars are quite capable of providing made up verbal accounts to investigators, asking them to provide a visual experience through a picture could prove to be their downfall, as it is possible to identify discrepancies, if the visual representation is made up. (10). Conclusion Forensic science by employing scientific and technological advances is proving to be an effective support for criminal investigation and policing and it can be rightly said that forensic science is the new frontier in policing. Works Cited 1. Saferstein, R. Criminalistics – An Introduction to Forensic Science. Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1981. 2. Nickell, Joe & Fisher, F. John. Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999. 3. Ratcliffe, Jerry. Intelligence-Led Policing. Devon, U.K.: Willan Publishing, 2008. 4. Tilley, Nick & Townsley, Michael. “Forensic Science in UK Policing: strategies, tactics and effectiveness”. Handbook of Forensic Science. Eds. Jim Fraser & Robin Williams. Devon, U.K.: Willan Publishing, 2009. 359-380. 5. Bailey, G. William. The Encyclopedia of Police Science. Second Edition. Oxford: Taylor & Francis, 1995. 6. Saks, H. Michael & Joehler, J. Jonathan. The Coming Paradigm Shift in Forensic Identification Science. Science, 309.5736 (2005):892-895. 7. McCartney, Carole. The DNA Expansion Programme and Criminal Investigation. British Journal of Criminology, 46.2 (2006): 175-192. 8. “Forensic science shaping policing investigations”. Platypus Magazine, Edition 97, December 2007. 03 Nov. 2009. . 9. Campbell, MacGregor. “Smell of death can point to murder time”. 2009. NewScientist. 03 Nov. 2009. . 10. Callaway, Ewen. “CSI: Doodle – lie detection through art”. 2009. NewScientist. 03 Nov. 2009. . Read More