Forensic science is a broad field that plays an integral part in criminal investigations. Some of the tasks can be characterised as providing objective information to the court, and each of the forensic science disciplines has its own set of responsibilities, such as determining the cause of death, Identify the forgery in documents, criminal profiling, time since death, presence of poison, identity of the unknown individual, and so on.
Better scientific studies and standards are required to advance forensic practitioners’ work and regulate the acceptance of forensic evidence. This indicates that more top scientists must conduct forensic research and attend court to interpret the findings. This will enable courts to understand forensic evidence better and to instruct judges on the evidence’s limitations more clearly and accurately.
Numerous topics come to mind when considering the limitations of forensic science. However, most of these limitations can be circumvented if the forensic science methods that have been established in the past are followed correctly. New technologies can be developed if forensic science funding is raised.
Role of Forensic Science
✔ Forensic science employs precise scientific approaches that claim to reveal the truth. They provide an objective assessment to the judicial system. Forensic science aids in the pursuit of justice and the resolution of legal issues.
✔ When investigators enter into a crime scene, it has a narrative to tell about what transpired. After analysing various evidence such as blood stains, Genetic material, biometrics, documents, and so on, Forensic scientists speculate as to what has happened.
✔ Forensic Sciences employs scientific methodologies to assist in convicting criminals as well as exonerating the innocent.
✔ Forensic science can determine whether a crime occurred, identify the perpetrator, and connect the victim and offender to the scene of the crime using evidence.
✔ Forensic science is applied to address the questions as to who, where, what, how, when, and why a crime was committed.
✔ Forensic science is made up of a variety of disciplines, each with its own function to perform.
Limitations of Forensic Science
When compared to other fields, forensic science has a lot more limitations. The following are a few of them:
👉 One of the most significant challenges in forensic science is the limited amount of evidence available at the crime scene. If there is only one drop of blood or one strand of hair at a crime scene, forensic scientists have little choice but to work with the available evidence.
👉 Each crime scene is distinct. There are never two crime scenes that have exactly the same factors. As a result, investigators are unable to compare the circumstances at one crime scene to those at another crime scene with a high degree of similarity and draw conclusions.
👉 If evidence is not collected, maintained, packaged, and analysed correctly, there is a risk of contamination.
👉 Because of the equipment’s high sensitivity, there is a risk of detecting data that isn’t required.
👉 In forensic science, environmental conditions (rain, water, and heat) add to limitations. Water-soluble components found at the crime scene, for example, could be flushed away if they are exposed to water.
👉 The type and nature of evidence found at the crime scene. There’s a potential that perishable evidence will be found at the crime scene. They will be completely gone if they are not retrieved on time, and there would be no way to get them back.
👉 If the evidence is not collected, kept, and packaged properly, the evidence gets contaminated, and the evidence’s value is gone.
👉 Time delay between occurrence and detection of evidence. Biological samples decay with time. If biological samples are not gathered in a timely manner, they will deteriorate, making it impossible to retrieve information from this source.
👉 Some evidence must be collected quickly, such as in the case of a car accident, an explosion, or a crime scene outdoors.
👉 All data processing and analysis must be precise and accurate. Even if one step goes wrong, it will have an impact on the others and become compromised.
👉 There is a greater risk of contamination of the evidence existing at the crime scene if the crime site has not been guarded or secured.
👉 Trace evidence is present at the scene of the crime and is very small, thus there is a potential that they will be missed during collections.
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