From Police Academy Training to Criminal Investigation: Strengthening Forensic Science in Policing

Abstract

Forensic science is a critical element of policing. In the past three decades, it has become one of the most important investigative tools in criminal investigations. The importance of forensic science is operationalized by linking suspects to crime scenes, exoneration of the wrongly convicted, novel forensic technologies in cold case clearances, and many other aspects. Although modern policing is equipped with forensic resources, it faces some challenges, including investigative flaws that are heavily impacted by the neglect and misuse of forensic science. With the development of forensic science, it is necessary to take advantage of technology in investigations to the maximum extent. From police academy training to criminal investigation, there are many procedures in the process that require forensic and related professionalism. In this respect, the need to strengthen forensic education, training, and practice to improve policing is urgent. This article addresses the current situation and problems of forensic science in general procedures and proposes strategies for improving forensic science in policing.

Keywords

Criminal investigation / Crime laboratory / Crime scene investigation / Forensic science / Policing

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Gary Cordner for his insightful feedback on the original draft of this manuscript.

Author Contributions

M.Z.: Conceptualization and writing. D.W.: conceptualization and writing.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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