Forensic science in the twenty-first century

Criminal Justice - Forensics

TWENTIETH-CENTURY FORENSICS in CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Forensic Science in Policing and Criminal Investigations:

In terms of its full potential, 21st-century forensic science is still in its infancy; nevertheless, the initial incorporation of forensic technologies to contemporary law enforcement applications have already revolutionized several traditional law enforcement investigative functions (Kobalinsky, Liotti, et al., 2005). The recent evolution DNA technology attributable to the Human Genome Project have revolutionized the field of criminal investigations more than any other single development since the introduction of identification through finger prints in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, hundreds of decades-old so-called "cold cases" have been solved in the first decade of the 21st century by applying new DNA analysis and identification techniques that were unavailable to the original investigators to physical evidence preserved since the initial investigation went cold (Johns, Downes, et al., 2005). As forensic science technology continues to evolve, investigators anticipate being able to establish conclusive identifications from an even greater range of potential sources as well as continued improvements in the sensitivity and precision of existing technologies that will enable even more minute quantities of physical evidence to provide positive identification.

DNA matching techniques have greatly expanded the list of potential substances and sources of reliable forensic evidence. Specifically, uniquely identifying forensic material is present in virtually all biological excretions and tissues but previous technological capabilities have limited their use pending the development of more precise forensic identification techniques (Markey, 2007). Since the introduction of more accurate DNA mapping and more sensitive analysis of biological evidence, forensic science has enabled criminal investigators to establish definitive identification from very minute quantities of blood evidence as well as hair, fiber, skin, saliva, semen, mucous, and excretory secretions. In many cases, those applications have even been applied successfully to animal DNA leading to positive identification of suspects from trace evidence linked to the domestic pets of both victims and criminals alike (Yost & Burke, 2007). Forensic Science in Court Processes and Modern Security: In addition to the tremendous potential increase in the applicability of forensic science to criminal investigations, 21st-century forensic science has also provided corresponding increases in the accuracy of existing techniques for establishing paternal lineage through mitochondria DNA, in particular (Markey, 2007). Those developments have generated applications capable of corroborating (or refuting) information pertaining to substance abuse by offenders and other court-monitored subjects.

The sophisticated analyses of hair follicles, for example, are capable of reveling accurate information that far exceeds the limits of 20th-century urinalysis techniques. In principle, these developments are extremely relevant to civil cases involving paternity rights and obligations, probate findings and awards in connection with refuted lineage, as well as to protecting the safety and welfare of children in the context of child-custody and court-supervised parental visitation rights predicated upon compliance with court orders (Kobalinsky, Liotti, et al., 2005)

In the same way that traditional techniques of criminal identification have enabled law enforcement authorities to establish national fingerprint information databases for the purposes of connecting evidence to possible previous offenders, DNA-based forensic evidence has allowed the creation of similar databases greatly expanding the types of forensic evidence used to increase the security of sensitive facilities and restricted areas.

When combined with the ever-increasing power of modern computer technology to cross reference and match different types of physical evidence, law enforcement authorities have already developed the ability to establish terrorist watch lists incorporating forensic evidence of previous acts of terrorism with uniquely identifying features of perpetrators still at large. The continued evolution of such marriages between criminal forensics and identification techniques will greatly enhance homeland security, both at checkpoints and in terms of tracking the possible whereabouts and activities of persons of interest in connection with possible terrorism.