Forensic Sciences: Review of Status and Needs
National Institute of Justice
Executive Summary
The work of forensic laboratories is varied and complex. Technical analyses performed must be able to forestall or defeat any challenge. To provide the best service possible to the criminal justice system, forensic laboratories must stay abreast of and have access to the latest technology and methods.
To assess the current state of forensic laboratories, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES), and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), held a joint workshop, Forensic Science Summit: Roadmap to the Year 2000, March 5–6, 1997, at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The purpose of the workshop was to determine the current status and needs of forensic laboratories on training; technology transfer; methods research, development, testing, and evaluation; and analytical services. The workshop also provided a forum to explore the use of national and Federal laboratory resources [e.g., Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD)] and how best to take advantage of this external support. Representatives from DOE attended the workshop to observe and learn how DOE could further contribute.
For technology transfer to be successful, there must be a true partnership between local or State forensic laboratories and national laboratories. Existing strengths that are fragmented and dispersed need to be consolidated. Over the years, a large amount of development work has been done at the national laboratories that some forensic laboratories may be aware of because of their geographic location, but the work may not be known to the entire forensic community. No formal process exists for technology transfer to forensic laboratories. The key is to identify technology currently in use or under development at national facilities that can be quickly transferred for use in the forensic field. Areas of technology at national laboratories that could be applied to the forensic community include robotics, remote sensors, supercomputers for computational power, and satellite communications.
In forensic science, as in other disciplines, cost-effectiveness and budgetary constraints are constant concerns. The technology must be affordable, reliable, and in some cases portable. The forensic community needs to be aggressive and creative in securing sources of funding to ensure that quality work is performed.
It is important to examine not only the needs of the forensic community, but also the consequences of not meeting those needs—how does it affect the criminal justice system and the public that the forensic laboratories serve. When police are not able to work cases efficiently, when court dates are postponed, then taxpayer money is not well spent, efficiency is reduced, and justice may not be served.
The training needs of the forensic community are immense. Training of newcomers to the field, as well as providing continuing education for seasoned professionals, are vital to ensuring that crime laboratories deliver the best possible service to the criminal justice system. Forensic scientists must stay up-to-date as new technology, equipment, methods, and techniques are developed. While training programs exist in a variety of forms, there is a need to broaden their scope and build on existing resources.
Casework—the support crime laboratories provide to those in the field—is the essence of forensic laboratory work. Casework support includes routine and traditional analyses common to all forensic laboratory settings, methods development particular to the requirements of specific cases, and the identification of analytical sources to perform work that is considered nonroutine.
Although many scientific and allied services apply to the forensic sciences field, there are nine common disciplines provided by the majority of municipal, county, and State forensic laboratories in the United States: Latent Print Examinations, Questioned Document Examinations, Firearms/Toolmarks and Other Impression Evidence Examinations, Crime Scene Response and Related Examinations, Energetic Materials (Explosives and Fire Debris Examinations), Postmortem Toxicology and Human Performance Testing, Forensic Biology and Molecular Biochemistry, Transfer (Trace) Evidence Evaluation, and Controlled Substance Examinations.
Common needs prevalent throughout most of these disciplines include standardization, validation, and the creation of information databases. However, each discipline has specific aspects and concerns such as sensitivity, efficiency, precision, portability, and effectiveness of sampling methods. Therefore, blanket standards generally cannot and should not be applied—they should be adapted and customized to each individual discipline and technique.
The development of new technologies brings new concerns for the future. If forensic scientists are to continue to provide valuable information and evidence efficiently, it is crucial for their needs to be addressed and resolved. This report can help further that agenda by serving as a guide on research and training priorities and on policy regarding criminal justice funding at the Federal, State, and local levels.